In October, the European scrap metal market, and the German market in particular, has remained generally stable, with moderate price fluctuations of between €5 and €15 per tonne, depending on the region, the grade of raw material and the timing of transactions. This is stated in a report by the Federal Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Recycling (bvse).
Market participants’ initial expectations of more substantial price rises were only partially realised at the start of the month, after which trading activity stabilised. The euro’s depreciation against the US dollar gave European traders greater flexibility in the international market without any significant loss of profitability.
Serious logistical bottlenecks remain the main problem facing the German steel industry:
- River shipping: the situation regarding transport on the Rhine remains critical. Some steelworks and scrap metal suppliers have effectively been cut off from water transport, forcing one of the steelworks to adjust its production volumes.
- Rail logistics: rail transport is in a state of chaos and is losing its competitiveness. Whilst local road transport costs around €5–10 per tonne, rail tariffs are as high as around €30 per tonne.
The market is seeing industrial enterprises leaving Germany. In particular, the relocation of key car manufacturing facilities to Hungary has already led to a reduction in the volumes of car scrap generated through tenders. The contraction of the metalworking sector is reducing the supply of high-quality scrap within the country, creating a shortage of raw materials that are critical to the green transition of the metallurgy and foundry sectors.
The regional trends in Germany were as follows:
- North and East: prices remained largely unchanged or rose moderately (by up to €5/t) due to a catch-up effect. A deal concluded at the start of the month was valued higher than subsequent contracts.
- West and south-west: sales volumes remained low, although some mills raised their purchase prices for high-quality new scrap by up to €10/t.
- Saar: prices have remained at their previous level against a backdrop of reduced demand.
The situation in neighbouring European markets was as follows:
- France, Luxembourg and Poland: the markets showed a high degree of stability, with prices remaining steady or rising only slightly by up to +€5/t.
- Austria and Spain: prices have risen by €5–15 per tonne, depending on the grade of scrap.
- Italy: the expected surge in prices did not materialise — factories kept price rises in check, whilst imports from Germany rose in price by only €5–8 per tonne.
As reported by GMK Center, trends in regional scrap metal markets in September were mixed. In Turkey, the US and Germany, prices rose following a summer slump. Last month, declines were recorded in the Chinese and Italian markets — by $9 and $13 per tonne respectively.
Courtesy : https://gmk.center/en
