Ferrous traders see price stability continuing

A recycled steel market that already spent the spring of 2025 in a steady pricing state could be due for more of the same, according to a United States metals recycling company CEO and other contributors to a recent Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Mirror on Ferrous Metals.

In a report prepared for the Brussels-based BIR, George Adams, CEO of California-based SA Recycling, describes a healthy U.S. steel industry and a stable manufacturing climate but an unconfident household consumer outlook before writing, “That sets the stage for what could be a protracted period of range-bound prices” for recycled steel.

He continues, “For now, it appears that the third quarter in the U.S. will be relatively quiet, with little driving prices either higher or lower. For recycled steel dealers, the expectation is that less material will support future prices in a supply-driven market.”

The industry veteran says the status quo is viewed positively by many in the recycled steel trade. Referring to hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel prices “close to $900” per ton and recycled steel prices around $400 per ton, Adams says that scenario “is not a recipe for disaster.”

The CEO adds, “Mills and dealers have enjoyed both steady business and market liquidity, and there’s nothing wrong with that scenario.”

In the same World Mirror edition, Michael Gaylard of Sims Metal describes the U.S. West Coast's export market as similarly stable.

Gaylard, who works from California for Australia-based Sims, writes, “Traditional recycled steel-consuming countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia have seen no material change in demand as abundant alternative materials continue to limit shifts in purchasing behavior. Import volumes remain broadly in line with 2024 levels, with ongoing buying activity largely confined to containerized shipments.”

While Bangladesh remains in the market for recycled steel, Gaylard says mill buyers there have been paying increasing attention to Japan, “with Japanese volumes surging 270 percent year on year owing to shorter lead times and more flexible shipment sizes compared to traditional deep-sea cargoes.” As a result, Gaylard says, “Bangladesh has secured five of the last six export tenders from Japan.”

Writing for the BIR from that island nation, Ted Taya of Osaka, Japan-based Shinsei Scrap Co. Ltd. also points to Vietnam as an active buyer of Japanese recycled steel.

Citing statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Taya says May exports of recycled steel totaled nearly 650,000 metric tons, representing nearly a 25 percent increase compared with May 2024.

“Vietnam was the leading buyer,” writes Taya, saying that Southeast Asian country purchased nearly 310,000 metric tons of recycled steel from Japan this May. He calls that a 4.6 percent increase from the previous month and “a sharp 72.7 percent increase” compared with May 2024. “This figure has remained stable at around 300,000 metric tons [per month] since February,” Taya adds.

Two different European traders, Tom Bird of United Kingdom-based Enicor and Mogens Bach Christensen of Denmark-based H.J.Hansen Genvindingsindustri, describe recycled steel generation and pricing conditions as “subdued” in that region, referring to the summer holiday season and slow-growth economic conditions.