Scrap
Overview
Argus provides comprehensive and detailed coverage of the global ferrous and non-ferrous scrap markets, with over 1,000 prices assessed by a global network of highly skilled market experts.
Argus’ strength lies in our ability to create appropriate methodologies for the trading dynamics of a specific spot market and to provide mechanisms for valuing scrap alloys.
Participants in the scrap industry rely on our extensive price data to act as an independent contract settlement mechanism, and use our powerful tools, like the Argus Alloy Calculator, to estimate the intrinsic value of highly engineered alloys.
Ferrous coverage
Argus offers a comprehensive regional view of the most active spot markets for ferrous scrap in regions around the world. Each price is available for direct comparison in multiple markets, with currency and unit of measurement conversions available to standardise charts and facilitate detection of favourable trade conditions.
Distinguished by either fob dealer or delivered to consumer inco terms, all prices are aligned with common industry specifications for that region. Explore the full list of scrap prices and specifications, including the length of history available on the Argus Metals platform for the grades assessed.
- Bundles
- Busheling
- Foundry/specialty
- Heavy melt
- Machine shop turnings
- Plate and structural
- Shredded scrap
- Tool steel
- Stainless and super alloys
- Alloy Calculator, where the current value of any alloy can be calculated by an intrinsic value formula in the absence of sufficient liquidity to produce a proper assessment
Non-ferrous coverage
Argus provides the full range of non-ferrous coverage from scrap price assessments on UBC, zorba, taint, tweak, and twitch products, as well as exchange data (30-minute delay LME and Comex prices are standard with Argus products) and global base metal premiums. Explore the full list of scrap prices in each non-ferrous category and visit the exchange data page to understand the unique value that Argus brings through its analysis of global exchange prices.
- Aluminium prices
- Aluminium alloy prices
- Brass/bronze prices
- Copper prices
- Lead prices
- Nickel prices
- Stainless and alloys
- Zinc prices
- Alloy Calculator, including over 200 predefined common alloys
- Exchange data
Highlights of North American coverage
Argus’ coverage of the North American scrap market focuses on spot market trading patterns within the most active regional domestic trading locations, as well as on export transactions. The full value chain is represented in the suite of Argus scrap assessments, from collected at yard to delivered to consumer prices:
- 8 containerised scrap price locations
- 14 consumer buying scrap price locations, including US and Canada
- 8 export yard scrap buying price locations
- 4 dealer selling scrap price locations
- 139 regional US and Canada non-ferrous scrap yard collection prices
- Prime and obsolete grades of scrap price assessments
- Mill and foundry grades of scrap price assessments: Titanium, stainless and scrap alloy pricing
- Southern US busheling and shredded weighted average assessments
Highlights of European coverage
Argus Scrap Markets provides context and intelligence to European domestic scrap markets to help steel mills, scrap suppliers, buyers and industrial manufacturers gain a greater understanding of the markets in which they operate. Argus produces over 50 European scrap prices assessments, including:
- German domestic ferrous scrap prices
- Spanish domestic ferrous scrap prices
- Spanish imported scrap prices
- UK domestic ferrous scrap prices
- Russia, including St Petersburg, dockside price
Highlights of Asian coverage
Argus carries Asian scrap prices from a variety of mature scrap-generating markets, and provides insightful analysis of deep-sea trades and short-sea trades. Argus covers the full scope of steel mill purchasing activity for electric arc furnace-based production, including stainless and engineered steels, in recognition of the global nature of many steel feedstocks purchased by mills across the world:
- Taiwan imported ferrous scrap prices
- India imported ferrous scrap prices
- Pakistan imported ferrous scrap prices
- Bangladesh imported ferrous scrap prices
- China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan imported aluminium scrap prices
- China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan imported copper scrap prices
Argus carries a variety of global scrap prices in each of its three core products — Argus Scrap Markets, Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Non-Ferrous Markets. To discover the combination of products that will provide the most complete coverage to serve your company’s needs, contact us for a consultation. Information about Argus subscription options can be found here.
Latest scrap news
Browse the latest market moving news on the scrap industry.
Liberty units to be repaid in Speciality restructuring
Liberty units to be repaid in Speciality restructuring
London, 29 November (Argus) — GFG Alliance entities Marble Power and Liberty Fe Trade DMCC will be excluded from Liberty Speciality Steel's restructuring plan, meaning they will be repaid, according to documents seen by Argus . GFG Alliance is the overall parent of Liberty Steel and all its subsidiaries. Speciality Steel owes and will pay Marble Power, its power supplier, around £11.5mn. Liberty Fe Trade is owed £1.4mn for the procurement of software licences, and will not have sufficient reserves to cover those licences without being paid. Liberty declined to comment. In total, GFG Alliance entities are owed over £288mn by Speciality Steel, but aside from Marble Power and Liberty Fe Trade, those claims will be released, reflecting a "significant contribution" from the wider parent, according to the restructuring documentation. In the event that Speciality Steel creditors accept its restructuring, enabling the company to keep operating, it will reduce its higher-margin aerospace work "as it is unable to retain quantities produced during the last two years for its largest two customers beyond the first half of 2025", Liberty's business plan states. Two main aerospace customers are supporting the business through upfront payments and premiums for accelerate deliveries, but this arrangement will end by May 2025, after which aerospace work will be significantly reduced. Key customers will provide £27.5mn in cash support to January 2025. As the aerospace work winds down, the company will "hire out the excess capacity to another steel producer", and discussions about this are continuing. Market sources have said Speciality could produce billet for British Steel's rolling operations. Going forward, Speciality will focus on vacuum-induction melting at Stocksbridge for other industries, such as oil and gas, and industrial engineering. Speciality will also source steel — including semi-finished products — externally to "increase deliverability of customer products". The business plan envisages the ebitda margin increasing from minus 188pc in February-March 2025 to 2pc in 2026. The plan assumes steady production through the year, other than seasonally reduced capacity in December and August. This would be a big change from this year, with just 50,000t of steel emerging from the electric arc furnace, which has a capacity closer to 1mn t/yr. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US import tariffs would lift steel, scrap costs
US import tariffs would lift steel, scrap costs
Pittsburgh, 27 November (Argus) — President-elect Donald Trump's plans to introduce a 25pc tariff on all imports from Mexico and Canada could increase costs for US steelmakers and manufacturers, but so far lacks clarity on its application around existing steel tariffs and trade agreements. Trump pledged on social media earlier this week to use an executive order to implement a widespread tariff on imports from both countries on 20 January, along with an additional 10pc tariff on all imports from China. The import tax on Canada and Mexico could have sweeping ramifications on the steel and manufacturing industries across the three North American countries. The additional import tax on China, which could lift current tariffs to as high as 60pc for all steel imports, would likely have minimal effects on US steel and scrap markets because of already-low import volumes from the nation. Despite the potential havoc the tariffs could have on supply chains, many market participants are waiting to react until more details about the plan are formalized. Some market participants expect that the list will be refined, and others view the pledge as a negotiating strategy for broader trade agreements, but some US scrap importers are beginning to lightly sketch out what the tariff would mean for sourcing raw materials. Lacking clarity Trump's announcement did not specify how the proposed import tax would interact with the existing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, which were imposed by his first administration in 2018 under national security concerns. Canada, Mexico and a few other key countries have remained exempt from the Section 232 tariffs, while other countries have seen tariffs removed and a non-tariffed quota system imposed. Similarly, if the US implemented tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico it would be in violation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that was also put in place by Trump's first administration in 2020. The proposed tariffs would equate to $2.1bn in additional costs for volumes of steel products imported this year, based on the latest preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce, and analysis of Canada and Mexico volumes. Canada and Mexico have exported 6.87mn metric tonnes (t) of steel products for consumption to the US with a value of $8.25bn year to date October, down from the 7.8mn t of products with a $9.65bn value imported the same period a year earlier, according to the latest available preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce. Scrap impact The import tax could have a significant impact on some US steelmakers' raw material pricing and sourcing strategies because Canada and Mexico are the two largest shippers of ferrous scrap into the country. The US has imported about 5mn t/yr of ferrous scrap over the last three years and ferrous scrap import volumes year to date September have so far totaled 3.5mn t, down 8pc from the same period last year. Canada has shipped 75pc of all ferrous scrap exports into the US, including stainless scrap and alloy scrap, over the last 10 years, while Mexico has shipped 12pc of the total over the same period. US steelmakers in the upper Midwest and Detroit region would be particularly impacted by the import tax because of the volume of prime and shred sourced from Canada. The US has imported a monthly average of 60,000t of #1 bundles and 44,000t of shred from the country since 2013. One US steelmaker said prime grades could see the greatest disruption because they are traded through longer-term, index-based contracts which might not have provisions regarding boarder tax changes because of assurances under the USMCA. Some Canadian traders said that if the tariff went into effect, the costs would be passed through to US steelmakers which would likely prompt them to cut back on volumes. This would increase regional demand for scrap in the US and could support a shift in flows from the east coast inland. Meanwhile, the timing of the US domestic ferrous scrap trade and the potential implementation of the import tax could also create challenges for some mills in January. One US steelmaker said that it would initially try to split the costs with Canadian dealers in January but work to establish a more formal agreement for the remainder of 2025 if the tariff were implemented. By Brad MacAulay and Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia's BOM forecasts severe cyclone season
Australia's BOM forecasts severe cyclone season
Sydney, 27 November (Argus) — Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) expects the country to experience 11 tropical storms over the next few months, threatening the country's mineral-rich Pilbara region and coal infrastructure in Queensland. The number of storms is in line with historical averages, but BOM warns that rising ocean temperatures could increase their severity. The state weather agency believes that four of these storms will make landfall from late December, and that a La Nina event could start later this year, although it may not last very long. La Nina events are associated with high levels of cyclonic activity. BOM's forecasts suggest that five of the storms are likely to form around Western Australia's mineral-rich Pilbara region, which houses more than 40 operating iron ore mines and two lithium mines. Over the last three months, sea surface temperatures around Pilbara have exceeded historical averages by 1.2–2°C, warming more than in any of the country's other cyclone-prone regions. On the other side of the country, four tropical storms could form around Queensland's cattle and coking coal producing regions, although these are likely to be less severe than the Pilbara storms. Temperatures across most of Queensland are forecast to exceed historical averages by 0.4–1.2°C in October-December. Cyclonic weather in Pilbara could disrupt iron shipping and mining activity in the region. Australia's three largest iron export ports sit along the region's coast. In 2019, Cyclone Veronica forced the closure of Pilbara's three major ports and multiple mines operated by mining company Rio Tinto, prompting the firm to cut its production forecasts for the year. Harsh storms in Queensland have previously damaged vital coal transport links in the state, hampering exports. In 2017, Cyclone Debbie damaged rail lines linking coal mines to the ports of Gladstone, Hay Point, Dalrymple Bay, and Abbott Point, which handle most of the state's coking coal exports. More recently, severe weather also halted deliveries to Mackay port . Queensland and Pilbara are also home to major LNG terminals at Dampier and Gladstone ports that sit within cyclone-prone zones. The two terminals together export over 3mn t/month of LNG . By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Q&A: Boston Metal Brazil’s sales to start in early 2025
Q&A: Boston Metal Brazil’s sales to start in early 2025
Sao Paulo, 26 November (Argus) — Metals technology company Boston Metal expects to start commercialisation in Brazil in early 2025. The company, which has developed molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology to improve metals extractions, initially will focus on extracting so-called "high-value" metals from tin slags at its plant in Minas Gerais state. The move is part of the company's effort to offer greener metals to the market and comes at the time when the company is developing MOE technology in the US to produce green steel. Metals reporter Carolina Pulice talked with Boston Metal's Brazil commercial director Gustavo Macedo about MOE technology and the company's plans for the future. The interview has been translated from Portuguese. Can you explain what MOE technology is? MOE technology was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1980s. It uses the electrolysis process on metals, a process that has been known for a long time. What is different about MOE is that its platform can be used to separate an infinite number of metals. Our company started to use MOE technology in iron ore to make it greener. After it has gone through the electrolysis process, iron is practically pure and releases only oxygen and then [you have] green steel. The great advantage of this process on iron ore is that you can use the metal with any grade, different from the hydrogen route that demands high contents of iron ore. And what will the operation in Brazil be like? Our focus in Brazil is to extract three metals from local tin slags — tantalum, niobium and tin — from our plant in Minas Gerais state. It is a rich region and has plenty of cassiterite, with a lot of mining waste available. At our new plant in Minas Gerais, we will start producing ferro-tin and a ferro-tantalum niobium alloy. We are already operating our pilot and demonstration plants. We plan the first commercialisation at the beginning of 2025. Our main market is likely to be China, where we will export our material to be used in the electronics industry. The move comes at a time when more consumers are demanding greener supply chains. And this is an advantage for us because Minas Gerais state can already secure 100pc renewable electric energy. The global tantalum chain is very complex because more than half of this metal comes from conflict regions in Africa. Can you tell us a bit more about Boston Metal's operations in the US? Our goal there is to develop MOE technology for the production of green steel. Steelmakers would add this process to their operations by replacing their blast furnaces with MOE technology, allowing them to produce pure iron by utilising electricity instead of coking coal. Our headquarters in the US is already at the stage where they are building our first demonstration plant. MOE technology at present demands 4MWh of energy per tonne of steel. Electric arc furnaces that process scrap currently have consumption of 0.5-0.8MWh/t. By Carolina Pulice Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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