Consolidation, the recycling of electric vehicle batteries, US steel exports and the benefits of sustainable steelmaking were key talking points at Fastmarkets’ Scrap & Steel 2023 conference in Dallas in January

US special bar quality steel prices rose in January in line with rising scrap and alloy costs, according to market participants

“Green steel” will not have a single definition or path to success but will vary by product and location, and will change over time, the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) top executive told Fastmarkets

Supported by stronger market conditions and higher production capacity, the Brazilian aluminium industry will depend less on imports and will instead prioritize locally-produced metal in 2023, market participants told Fastmarkets

There is no global scrap shortage looming, the top executive at Commercial Metals Co (CMC) told a packed room at Fastmarkets’ Scrap & Steel North America 2023 event in Dallas, adding that while there is no decarbonization blueprint for the steel industry to follow, the shift to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel production is key to meeting “green” targets

The scrap industry in the US is expected to continue to consolidate, which benefits the market overall, panelists said at Fastmarkets’ event this week

Despite growing concerns around the health of the US economy and the impact of rising inflation, the US ferrous scrap market should stabilize and recover moderately this year after a period of sustained downside pressure throughout much of 2022, according to panelists at Fastmarkets’ Scrap & Steel conference 2023 in Dallas, Texas

Given the sharp price increases recorded by several major seaborne steel scrap markets at the start of this new year, it can be easy to forget the host of structural issues still bubbling under the surface of the trade

Buying appetite in China for high-purity copper scrap of overseas origin is expected to remain strong in 2023, with questions over the supply of domestic scrap in the country, and a growing trend to repurpose scrap materials as part of the decarbonization movement across the world

Fastmarkets has implemented a comprehensive update of its nickel scrap prices to bring them in line with its global price reporting agency standards.