Shutdowns of electric arc furnace (EAF) mills such as GST Steel Co., Kansas City, Mo., and Trico in Alabama are causing some disruptions in trading patterns.
Unlike situations with mills attempting to work through bankruptcies, the shuttering of these facilities has forced scrap processors in those regions to not just change credit terms, but to quickly find new destinations for ferrous scrap.
Reduced melting capacities at most other mills have made the scramble all the more difficult. Lackluster export markets also offer little help. A processor in eastern Texas notes, “there is more scrap going up the river, rather than staying in the South or going out to export from New Orleans.”
Several processors comment they are concentrating more on specialty foundry grades as a means of ensuring markets for scrap. But such a strategy is not a cure-all, warns one processor, who says quite a few foundries are now popping up as credit risks as well.
One Atlanta area dealer says the Trico closing sealed off one market, and concerns regarding the status of Birmingham Steel have him and other Southern processors worried.
The Birmingham, Ala.-based mini-mill operator has cited higher energy costs and difficult steel industry conditions as reasons for its most recent quarterly loss of $10.9 million (35 cents per share), for the quarter ending March 31. The company’s net sales also dropped by 21% compared to the same three-month period in 2000.
Sponsored Content
SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC
An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).
Get curated news on YOUR industry.
Enter your email to receive our newsletters.

Explore the June 2001 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
Latest from Recycling Today
- Buy Scrap Software to showcase its software at Scrap Expo in September
- LG details recycling activities
- Algoma EAF is up and running
- Toyota-Tsusho completes acquisition of Radius Recycling
- CATL, Ellen MacArthur Foundation aim to accelerate circular battery economy
- Commentary: Expanded polystyrene is 98 percent air, 2 percent plastic and 100 percent misunderstood
- AMCS appoints general manager for North America
- How tariffs, regulations affect LIBs recycling in US, EU