RMDAS numbers show second month of stability

Steel mill buying prices for ferrous scrap have remained relatively flat from late September to late November, according to the most recent transaction figure averages calculated by the Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) of Pittsburgh-based Management Science Associates Inc. (MSA).

In its November prices, released on the 20^th of this month, national averages for the three major grades published by MSA rose by either $3 or $4 per ton. That followed an October RMDAS price report that showed no fluctuation in any of the three grades—something had never before occurred since RMDAS was established in 2006, according to MSA Inc.’s Jeralyn Brown.

The November RMDAS figures show No. 1 heavy melting steel (HMS) and the RMDAS prompt industrial composite of prime grades gaining $4 per ton as a national average, with shredded scrap lagging only slightly with a $3 per ton rise.

There were slight regional variances to these averages—most notably in the North Midwest region, where prompt grades gained $14 in value, likely because of the slowdown in some manufacturing activities caused by a rising COVID-19 caseload.

While no grades in any region posted a November price decline, in the RMDAS South region shredded scrap did not add to its value, remaining at $305 per ton for the second month in a row.