A Nerds of Steel reader in Australia wrote recently to ask where to find Turkish scrap prices. As we’re always trying to accelerate readers research and reduce their costs, I am following up with information on good sources of European scrap prices.
Subscribers to Steel Business Briefing and Metal Bulletin can find European scrap prices at a price. But there are a number of useful sources on-line that you don’t have to pay for, though scrap prices may not be as up-to-date as you may like. Also, understanding the local language might be a problem (some of the following are not in English) so post a comment or send us an email if you have any trouble.
The BDSV (The German steel recycling association) give a table of monthly historical German scrap prices starting from 1979 and currently (at mid-January ’09) showing December ’08 prices.
Eurofer (the European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries) provides a monthly scrap price index for demolition scrap, new arisings, and shredded scrap. The index is an average for the main EU countries and is also now showing December ’08 levels.
Federec (the French recycling association) publishes quarterly reports which contain a quarterly scrap price index, but they are not up-to-date; the current report avaible shows results for July/August/September. For prices in France, though, it may be a good source.
Steelonthenet also publishes monthly scrap prices f.o.b. Rotterdam currently up to November ’08. These are supplied by Recycling International. Though you won’t find a table of prices on the Recycling International site, you can read through short articles describing pricing on their Market analysis: ferrous page.
Please do add a comment if you know of any other free (or subscription) sources of European scrap prices. And of course, keep the questions coming and we’ll try to help you find what you’re looking for.