Historic Scrap Metal price increase expected for December

With mills scrambling to fill low scrap levels, the scrap metal market is looking at a price increase of $70 across the board on all types of steel. This huge move is something that has not been seen since 2008. Detroit entered the market with a $70 per ton increase. While the market has not settled yet, all indications are that the $70 number will hold. That comes with more optimism for January 2021 with another possible bump of $30. While it is still way too early for that, we still need to see the final number for December. Optimism, especially in Detroit, comes from a flat market in November while other areas had a slight increase. Detroit may be playing a little catch-up here, but the huge increase is just a simple result of limited scrap being delivered creating a huge demand for steel. While the good times may be short lived, at least for a couple months, the scrap dealers are finally smiling, a little.