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.
Stay ahead of the scrap metal markets
To be informed of relevant content, sign up to Argus Scrap Metal Market Highlights. Each newsletter issue provides key prices, selected news, downloadable insight papers, podcasts, and on-demand videos across the global scrap markets. Our coverage spans both ferrous and non-ferrous scrap, enabling you to explore the most active spot markets for scrap around the world.
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Fed holds target rate on Middle East oil surge: Update
Fed holds target rate on Middle East oil surge: Update
Adds Powell comments, background. Houston, 18 March (Argus) — Federal Reserve policymakers kept their target interest rate unchanged Wednesday, citing uncertainty from "developments in the Middle East" prompted by the Iran war. The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate at 3.5-3.75pc in the second meeting of 2026, following quarter-point cuts in September, October and December last year. "Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated," the FOMC said in its statement. "The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain." In its latest median economic projections, released Wednesday, the Fed continued to pencil in one quarter-point rate cut this year, unchanged from the prior projection in December. Policymakers still see one more quarter-point cut in 2027. Still, the Fed views its favorite measure of inflation rising to 2.7pc to end this year from a prior forecast for 2.4pc. Policymakers see inflation falling to 2.2pc next year. They see GDP growth ending the year up an annual 2.4pc from a prior forecast of 2.3pc, with unemployment ending the year at 4.4pc, unchanged from the prior forecast. Regarding the inflationary shock of the US-Iran war, Powell said economists generally "look through energy shocks" and consider them transitory. He said the longer-term progress in bringing inflation down to the Fed's target of 2pc will be more accurately measured by how quickly the economy navigates the one-time impacts of Trump's tariffs. Still, Powell, said the net impact of the oil shock will "still be some downward pressure on spending and employment and upward pressure on inflation." Overall, he said, regarding the economy, "growth is solid, the inflation overshoot is mainly from goods (inflation) and the tariffs. The unemployment rate is little changed, with little growth in labor demand or supply," which he attributed largely to Trump's crackdown on immigrants. Buffeted by Trump's on-again/off-again tariff wars that make it harder for businesses to make long-term investment and hiring decisions, wide-ranging cuts to the federal bureaucracy and mounting deficit spending, the economy has shown clear signs of slowing. The US economy slowed to an annual 0.7pc pace in the fourth quarter of 2025, mostly on lower consumer and government spending prompted by the partial shutdown. It was sharply lower than the average 2.5pc pace in the first nine months of the year. Job growth slowed to about 247,000 in 2025, down from an estimated 1.5mn in 2024, according to Labor Department data. Powell, whose term in office expires on 15 May, said he would stay on as a Fed chair until his successor, former Fed governor and Trump nominee Kevin Warsh, is confirmed by the Senate. He added that he would also stay on at the board of governors of the Fed until a Justice Department criminal investigation into his congressional testimony regarding cost overruns at a Fed building project is "well and truly over with transparency and finality." A federal judge last week overturned Justice subpoenas related to the case, saying the purpose of the probe was to pressure Powell to lower rates or step down before his time in office expires in May. Justice has appealed the ruling. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US Fed holds target rate on Middle East oil surge
US Fed holds target rate on Middle East oil surge
Houston, 18 March (Argus) — Federal Reserve policymakers kept their target interest rate unchanged Wednesday, citing uncertainty from "developments in the Middle East" prompted by the Iran war. The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept the federal funds rate at 3.5-3.75pc in the second meeting of 2026, following quarter-point cuts in September, October and December last year. "Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated," the FOMC said in its statement. "The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain." In its latest median economic projections, released Wednesday, the Fed continued to pencil in one quarter-point rate cut this year, unchanged from the prior projection in December. Policymakers still see one more quarter-point cut in 2027. Still, the Fed views its favorite measure of inflation rising to 2.7pc to end this year from a prior forecast for 2.4pc. Policymakers see inflation falling to 2.2pc next year. They see GDP ending the year up an annual 2.4pc from a prior forecast of 2.3pc. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
New Zealand advances electric arc furnace steel plant
New Zealand advances electric arc furnace steel plant
Sydney, 18 March (Argus) — New Zealand's government has fast-tracked the development of National Green Steel Limited's planned steel recycling plant in Waikato, which will process scrap steel into structural steel using electric arc furnace (EAF) technology. Producer National Green Steel plans to process 200,000 t/yr of recycled steel into structural steel, New Zealand's resources minister Shane Jones said on 18 March. The company's proposal includes a scrap-steel shredding plant, EAF, and a solar farm to power the facility, according to its fast-track application. New Zealand's fast-track process streamlines approvals for regionally or nationally significant projects by consolidating multiple processes. National Green Steel is not the only producer working on EAF projects in New Zealand. BlueScope-owned producer New Zealand Steel is developing an EAF at its Glenbrook mill and Global recycler Sims has agreed to supply the producer with at least 200,000 t/yr of ferrous scrap to support the project. By Avinash Govind Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
UK steel decoilers bracing for 50pc quota cut
UK steel decoilers bracing for 50pc quota cut
London, 17 March (Argus) — The UK's steel market is bracing itself for a halving of tariff-rate quotas, service centres told Argus today. The department of business and trade is leaning towards quota cuts of up to 50pc, with a 50pc out-of-quota tariff, but will drop the cap on residual quotas and may reintroduce the carryover of unused quota, service centre sources said. The department is also considering introducing a shipping clause, because of potential disruption to shipments caused by the US-Iran war. A halving of hot-rolled coil (HRC) quotas would lead to a shortfall of around 488,000 t/yr, compared with current annual quotas, according to Argus calculations. The drop in hot-dip galvanised (HDG) would be even more pronounced, with a shortfall of around 915,000 t/yr, assuming a 50pc cut. The removal of the residual cap on HDG would likely lead to a large number of tonnes coming from South Korea, a flow which is dominated mainly by two traders, and Vietnam. The new safeguard regime will likely be announced by the business minister at Tata Steel's Port Talbot site on 19 March. The UK market has firmed markedly in the past two weeks, after seriously lagging European prices, since Tata Steel hiked its offer by £125/t . Replacement costs for European and domestic HRC are now £650/t ddp or above, according to service centres, while sheet prices have rocketed from lows of around £550/t to over £700/t in some cases. Local producer Tata Steel is likely to add another £20-25/t to its prices immediately, because of increased shipping and costs, and is eyeing another jump of around £100/t for July, sources said. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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