some US$ 3 per tonne. But early
November, the factory automobile
bundles fell by US$ 25 per gross
tonne to stand at US$ 283, whereas
the composite price fell to US$ 258.50
per long tonne.
Steel Dynamics’ CEO Keith Busse
told journalists that average scrap
costs fell US$ 21 per long ton in the
third quarter of this year compared
to April-June 2007. Major buyer
Nucor had purchased a significant
amount of scrap in September but
subsequently bought smaller ton-
nages in October.
In the second week of October,
US East Coast exporters were selling
shredded scrap to Turkey for
US$ 350 per tonne and 80/20 scrap for
US$ 345 per tonne cfr – equivalent to,
respectively, US$ 275 and US$ 270
fob. The USA exported 7.338 million
tonnes of scrap during the first eight
months of this year, or nearly 15%
more than in the same period of 2006.
At last month’s BIR Autumn Conven-
tion in Warsaw, it was estimated that
US exports would total 13.5 to 14 mil-
lion tonnes for the whole of 2007.
Meanwhile, US pig iron imports have
exceeded 3 million tonnes, of which
2.25 million tonnes came from Brazil,
M A R K E T A N A L Y S I S
Ferrous
Deep-sea shipping freight rates
have continued to rise in recent
weeks, reaching US$ 50-55 per tonne
for Rotterdam to Turkey and exceed-
ing US$ 75 per tonne for the USA to
the same destination. Meanwhile,
rates for shipments from the US
West Coast to Asian destinations
were nearing the US$ 100 per tonne
mark. Even for the comparatively
short trip from the Black Sea to
Turkey, rates jumped to US$ 52 per
tonne (Rostov to Izmir) from US$ 45
in early October and US$ 32 in mid-
August.
In the USA, domestic scrap buying
has slowed since September owing to
lower demand from domestic mills.
The US factory automobile bundles
price for October remained un-
changed at US$ 308 per lt whereas
the US Composite price dropped
Recycling International • November 2007 66
Hopes for better scrap returns in October did not materialise as prices for long steel products
– especially rebar and debar – gradually declined during the month; in Turkey, they fell no less
than US$ 40 per tonne. Deep-sea shipping freight rates rose again in October to exceed
US$ 75 per tonne for cargoes from the USA to Mediterranean destinations. Although Turkey
was forced to increase its cif/cfr prices for 80/20 material to some US$ 345 per tonne,
higher freight rates and the weakness of the US dollar meant barely any improvement in
exporters’ net yields. Domestic scrap prices in the USA, the EU and Japan declined some
US$ 5-10 per tonne last month. Chinese scrap imports were again minimal whereas South
Korea bought more scrap from abroad. Latest fob Rotterdam prices include: US$ 290 per
tonne for 80/20 HMS I/II scrap; US$ 295 for shredded; and US$ 280 for the 60/40 I/II mix.
Late-year recovery will be minimal at best
Closed: November 3 2007
By Alfred Nijkerk
RI_049 MA Ferrous:MA Ferrous 08-11-2007 09:32 Pagina 66
