June is officially here, and the ferrous markets seem to be telling us that while the thermometers are climbing the opposite may be happening for the ferrous markets, but we will let Chad Ellerbrock tell that story.
The story that I am probably the most interested in telling, and that’s not being told enough in my opinion, is the individuals and businesses that are participating in the recycling industry daily.
That’s why Nick Snyder and I started going hard the social media marketing back in 2018. We wanted to grow, and we wanted to tell our story before anybody else could. We wanted our current and future customers, vendors, and suppliers to know who they were dealing with and why they should give us a chance. We didn’t want to be just another scrap company in Iowa, I mean Idaho, we wanted to build our company’s brand.
So we started, we made a shitload of mistakes, and we created even more freindships and business opportunities along the way. Now we sit here, 6-ish years in, our 100th A Scrap Life Podcast episode in the books… I am grateful for all the people who have contributed to this process, and I am excited that there is now a genuine opportunity for the Recycled Media Team who helped build our brands help others do the same…. FAFO, you might just be surprised what telling your story can do for your business.
On July 4th, 2020 Brett Ekart released his first episode of A Scrap Life Podcast, featuring his Mom and Dad. That day marked the beginning of a journey that would leave a lasting impact on the recycling industry. Over the course of the next 4 years, he continued to expand his reach, pulling in guests from every corner of the globe while remaining steadfast in bringing awareness to the industry.
From the start, Brett’s goal was to highlight the hardworking individuals grinding day in and day out. If you’ve followed Brett on any social media you know that goal has never changed. In fact, he’s dug his heels in deeper to focus on the true game changers.
Over 100 guests have been featured on his podcast, and here are a few of them to share their gratitude and excitement over what this podcast means to them.
Cheers Brett. Here’s to many more episodes and many more thoughtful conversations yet to come.
– The Recycled Media Team
I trust this update finds you well and thriving. 🌟 In this month’s edition, we delve into the dynamic trends shaping the steel and scrap metal industry. Brace yourself for a thrilling ride through market fluctuations, where each dip and surge reveals a compelling narrative of opportunity.
📊 Month-to-Month Analysis 📈
📈 Bull Case 🚀
- 🔥 Crude Steel Production: Still going strong at 78.1%, marking the second-highest week of the year (up by 1.9%).
📉 Bear Case 🐻
- Consumer Confidence: A dip of 8 points, from 77.2 to 69.1 (a decrease of 10.5%).
- ⏳ HRC Lead Times: Stagnant at 3-4 weeks.
- 📉 HRC May Futures: Slipped from $810 to $760.00 in May (a decrease of 6.2%).
- 🌐 Steel Imports: Up by 11.3% in April compared to March. 🌎
- Copper Prices: A rollercoaster ride—from $4.55, all the way up to $5.11, and then down to $4.61 in May.
- 📉 Turkey 80/20 HMS: A slight decrease from $384.00/MT to $379.50/MT (a decrease of 1.2%).
📌 Noteworthy Observations 🧐
- Buyer Pressure: Worthington Steel Flat Rolling Processing notes that buyers are feeling the heat on steel pricing. However, not all mills share the same sentiment.
- 📊 Nucor’s Move: Nucor raised its Consumer Spot Price to $780 per ton for the second consecutive week.
- Analyst Projections: Analysts predict a price range of $750-$760 per ton for hot roll coil, but buyers still see opportunities for deals.
- 🕰️ Lead Times: Keep an eye on lead times. Despite expectations of shorter lead times due to June production challenges, more mills are likely operating into July for hot roll.
- 📆 July Outlook: July is expected to be a strong booking month for mills, with contract prices resetting quarterly and monthly at improved levels. 💼
- 🔑 Spot Buyers: Speculation suggests that steel prices may have bottomed out, and spot buyers returning to the market could boost mill order books. However, available deals seem limited.
Your success is our mission, and we’re here to arm you with the insights you need to conquer these thrilling times. Do you have questions or craving more details? Check on the charts for yourself below.
Thanks a ton for trusting us as your market intel source.
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Summer is officially here. Memorial Day is in the books, kids are on summer break, and the warmer air has the aroma of freshly cut grass. The temperatures aren’t the only thing on the rise, metals have been on a heater in May!
Copper set an all-time high at $11,104.50 and while we have drifted back a bit, we’re still in ranges not seen since the 1st half of 2022. Copper is used extensively in construction and energy applications and speculators have been betting on a long-term shortage of the metal as the world moves toward green energy. Aluminum, used for some of the same applications, usually lags behind the red metal in commodity rallies but did come around and hit 2-year highs late this month as well. Year to date, aluminum is up 15% while copper has risen 20%. Some analysts foresee a continued inflow of money into metals, meaning pricing support may persist but the biggest obstacle I see is demand. China, the world’s largest metal consumer, remains sluggish and the US (like many other countries) are still fighting sticky inflation with elevated interest rates and sapping economic growth. Remember when experts were calling for multiple interest rate decreases in 2024 with some as early as March? Yeah, those didn’t pan out and we’ll be lucky to see a single rate decrease before the end of the year… Read More.
A condensed and paraphrased excerpt from the Johnson Matthey PGM market report, May 2024, by Becky Berube.
During 2020 – 2022, the historically high prices for palladium and rhodium motivated holders of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) to sell into the market, including recyclers of scrap catalytic converters. Consumers of PGMs who typically bought metal “just-in-time,” beginning to fear supply disruption, purchased PGMs “just-in-case.” This created excess above-ground stock. The following things happened following this time which affected demand. PGM prices fell significantly. Fears about future supply were relieved and excess PGM inventory released. Lower mileage on vehicles during COVID, combined with higher interest rates, resulted in fewer vehicles sold. With less cars coming off the road, less vehicles and scrap catalytic converters entered the recycling stream. Demand for gasoline powered vehicles decreased further as hybrid and electric vehicles sales increased. Instead of mass-producing vehicles, auto manufacturers started producing vehicles on-demand. Price-driven decisions to substitute platinum for palladium once again in autocatalyst, and a reduction of rhodium in the use of glassmaking, further affected PGM demand.
The expected recovery in primary and secondary PGM supply, from mining and recycling, fell short in 2023 with platinum and palladium supply increasing slightly and rhodium supply decreasing. Although there were supply interruptions in South Africa due to maintenance and energy constraints, Russia flooded the market with sales into China. Secondary supply from automotive scrap fell 14% to a seven-year low. On the other hand, global gasoline vehicle output surged by 9% to almost 70 million units, raising PGM demand for the automotive sector by 8%. In 2023, demand for all three metals increased, while supply fell, resulting in significant deficits for all three… Read More.
Don’t worry you’re not missing anything! Worthy Industry Reads, Marketing Mash Up, and the Book of the Month will now be on the mid-month LFG Crew News newsletter!
