The steel mills in Bangladesh have picked up a raft of containerized scrap cargoes at higher prices over the past week, preferring boxes over bulk cargoes, market participants told Fastmarkets on Thursday June 17.
Demand for bulk material was muted in the country following
recent completed trades, rising
bulk prices from the United States West Coast and continued
congestion at the Bangladeshi port of Chattogram.
"Bulk vessels keep having to wait at anchorage for barges to take material to land," a Bangladeshi steelmaker said.
"This increases logistics costs by about $30 per tonne for a bulk cargo, which means it costs more than containers. Containers are more efficient and can be taken to the factory more quickly, whereas bulk is more challenging," he said.
"Bulk is still an option but there is a growing tendency among the mills in Bangladesh now to go for containers, and to get at least 50% of supply coming in containers," he added.
Buyers ideally want to book bulk scrap for August shipment now, but sellers were not willing...