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The Fastmarkets Circular Steel Summit 2026 brought together more than 320 industry leaders in Houston for three days of market intelligence, policy debate, and high-level networking.
Against a backdrop of historic trade policy shifts and Section 232 tariff evolution, delegates from scrap processors, steel mills, EAF producers, automotive OEMs, financial institutions, and governments converged to understand what comes next for the circular steel economy. This report captures the themes and conversations that defined the event.
The 2026 event drew delegates from every corner of the global steel supply chain — scrap processors, EAF mills, traders, OEMs, financiers, and policymakers, representing the full commercial spectrum of the circular steel economy.
More than half of all attendees held senior management or executive roles, making this the most senior commercial gathering in the North American steel calendar.
From tariff uncertainty to global scrap market realignment, here are the conversations that mattered most.
The dominant theme of the opening day was the evolving tariff environment and its complex, often contradictory impact on the steel scrap industry. Adam Shaffer, VP of international trade at the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA), delivered a candid fireside chat that set the tone for the entire event.
Under Section 232, steel imports now face a 50% levy, but recycled steel imports from all countries remain exempt. Shaffer highlighted that materials which would historically have flowed to export markets are instead fueling domestic mills. The indirect impacts of reciprocal tariffs under IEEPA, particularly on EU-sourced equipment needed for scrap processing, are creating meaningful operational headaches. About 70% of steel scrap entering the US comes from Canada and 20% from Mexico.
A lively panel on the future of USMCA trade sparked some of the event’s most pointed debate. Fernando Villanueva, CEO of Deacero USA and Mid Continent Steel and Wire, argued that “Fortress North America” requires a fundamental renegotiation, citing loopholes that allow steel from China to be transformed in Mexico or Canada before entering the US.
K-Scrap Resources’ Tom Meloche offered a memorable framing: “We’re welded together. We’re not bolted together.” In contrast, Samir Kapadia of the Vogel Group argued for a more fragmented view of the three countries’ positions. The USMCA renegotiation, scheduled for 2026, was a central concern throughout.
Koray Gunay, purchasing director at Colakoglu Metalurji, delivered one of the most data-rich presentations of the event. The spread between scrap and finished steel has narrowed to below $100 per tonne today, down from $200 in 2025 and $300 in 2023. Turkey imported approximately 17 million tonnes of scrap in 2025, a 6.7% decline, while US export volumes fell nearly 20% to 3.2 million tonnes.
West coast scrap that once went entirely to South Korea now flows to Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, India, and an emerging Saudi Arabia market. The geography of global scrap demand is being redrawn.
Jeremy Leonard of Oxford Economics presented a nuanced demand picture. Section 232 tariffs have supported US steel production growth through 2025, but the underlying environment is “fundamentally different” from previous cycles. In automotive, roughly $20 billion in costs have been absorbed upstream — unsustainable long-term. Oxford Economics projects flat US automotive production through 2027.
The bright spots are data centers, AI infrastructure, and grid expansion. Nucor’s Dan Needham noted that data centers are consuming steel from structural frames to insulated panels, and that Nucor can supply 95% of a data center’s needs end to end.
Nucor’s Dean Kanelos revealed the company’s new 3-million-tonne-per-year greenfield mill in Mason County, West Virginia, scheduled for commissioning by end of 2026, will feature two galvanizing lines — one dedicated entirely to automotive steel.
A panel on scrap sourcing underscored the quality challenges of an EAF-heavy future. As copper residuals accumulate in the scrap supply, meeting tighter mill specifications becomes harder. Dan Needham questioned the credibility of net-zero-by-2030 ambitions from some players in the market.
We’re welded together. We’re not bolted together. Bolted together has the connotation that we can take the bolts out and float away.
Materials that typically would have gone to the export market are instead going to fuel domestic mills, which is a great thing.
The differences between end product prices and raw material prices are getting more and more squeezed day by day.
Compared with previous cycles, the demand environment today is fundamentally different.
The two other countries are operating with the US entirely differently. Why would you bucket that?
I think we’re in for one of the best decades for the industry ahead.
Net-zero by 2030 ambitions from some players are simply not credible.
Three days of panels, fireside chats, market spotlights, and workshops — a selection of the sessions that defined the event.
Over 45 executives, economists, and policy experts from across the steel value chain took the stage across three days.
Our reporters captured candid intelligence from delegates throughout the three days.
The Circular Steel Summit brings together the entire value chain, from scrap yard to end user — every company that has a stake in the price, quality, and availability of steel scrap in North America.
In 2026, that meant scrap processors and traders sitting alongside mill procurement heads, OEM buyers alongside policy advisors, and bankers alongside recyclers. The commercial conversations that happen at the margins of this event are as valuable as the sessions on stage.
Circular Steel Summit 2027 is already in planning. Join the industry’s most senior gathering for another defining year in the circular steel economy.