The strength of December's ferrous scrap trade in the United States is in debate, with mills seeing potential for only a limited upside while sellers believe a repeat of November's increase may be necessary to reinvigorate scrap flows.
One mill buyer said that he expects the market to increase by a modest $10 per gross ton in December because the last month of the year is not known for strong demand. "There will be a hangover of scrap at mills' yards come December because of less productivity during Thanksgiving week [November 25-29]. And December is a short month, plus demand is slow, so I don't see it rising more than $10 a ton," the mill buyer said. A midwestern mill buyer did not expect any further price increases until January 2020."Don't look for much more strength in the market in December because it is pretty much an inconsequential month," the midwestern buyer said. A Midwest shredder source disagreed, indicating that the market is ripe for a $20-30 per ton increase in December. "Winter is settling in, and it is unseasonably cold and already snowing hard in the Midwest. On...