We love our summers and our trips to the beach but as the steel scrap price shows the closer you are to the coast the worse news for the July scrap steel updates!
According to Fastmarkets the weakness in the export market has hurt domestic pricing a bit, with cut grades (heavy melt #1 steel, plate & structural scrap, etc) taking a modest $10 per ton decline. Export has fallen further and in regions that have a good deal of export business like ours it hurts the overall demand in the market. The Philadelphia HMS #1 price has given up all gains in 2026 with this cut while #1 busheling stayed solid. In fact, busheling has been up or sideways every month since October of 2025, and the price increases in new hot rolled coil definitely are supporting the scrap price for galvanized and busheling grades.
In non-ferrous June scrap pricing may have been the highwater mark for the recent past. Pricing for copper has bounced all over the place and an uptick just this morning has finally gotten copper back to where it started in June. The story for nickel (stainless steel element base for metal pricing) and aluminum though are dramatically different. Nickel historically suffers from some summer doldrums, but the over production in Indonesia, which now accounts for 2/3 of supply has really hurt the market as it is contrasted with weak demand. The story in aluminum is a big drop in the LME and the Midwest premium at the same time. No idea how the renewed hostilities in Iran and supply crunches may change things but only time will tell if that’s priced into the market or not.
Our customers have their updated formulas and we are hoping for an increase in August as the summer moves to the end!
