Turkey coup close call a near black swan Black Friday for scrap market
Most predictions come with a disclaimer that if some rare, high-profile, unforeseen event were to occur, all bets are off. Usually that disclaimer is unwritten. Sometimes it is written. Last Thursday a...
View ArticleMemories from the (ferrous) scrap heap of history
We all remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001. Others are old enough to remember where they were when JFK was shot. These and other historical events changed the world. Those involved in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Move over, Optimus Prime: The optimizer is a scrappy competitor
The unique nature of the US ferrous scrap trade makes for some tense moments and critical decisions. A steel mill’s entire month of scrap requirements are generally priced and purchased in as little as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are surging coking coal costs a boon for scrap prices?
What links coking coal loading from Australian ports with ferrous scrap recycled in New Jersey, USA? And what does this connection mean for Turkey’s electric arc furnace mills? The inter-connectedness...
View ArticleTurkey’s Kurdish arrests put kibosh on ferrous scrap trade
Black Friday usually refers to a day where retailers cut prices to stimulate consumer demand ahead of holiday/festival seasons. But it was a different kind of Black Friday for Turkey on November 4 as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How does steel scrap fit into a larger recycling picture?
Comparing countries based on specific criteria is one of the most interesting and revealing ways to learn about the world. Some demographic information is well known, like China having the largest...
View ArticleChina’s supply-side reform roiling metals markets
Some commentators and participants still question the extent of China’s supply-side reforms, but the effects — or the perception of the effects — are undoubtedly reverberating throughout the global...
View Article‘September US scrap collapses to sideways’: How can this be?
In 1968 there was an American college football game between two Ivy League schools, Harvard and Yale. Harvard, an underdog entering the game, scored 16 points in the final 42 seconds to miraculously...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LME ferrous scrap contract spread to underlying market persists: analysis
With the London Metal Exchange’s ferrous scrap futures contract clearing a record 500,000 metric tonnes last month, we take a closer look at market fundamentals driving up both physical and forward...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Iron ore cost-effective for steel mills as price diverges from scrap
Some Chinese steel mills are responding to the strong domestic scrap price by switching back to using higher proportions of iron ore in the burden mix. An S&P Global Platts analysis of the...
View Article