German ferrous scrap merchants made more or less similar assessments of the year as it drew to a close: “It has not been a fantastic year, but it has been okay.” “We broke even.” “Better than 2013, but still not good.” On the whole, steel scrap prices were the same as they had been in November during the final month of the year, although minor price cuts and special bonuses were reported sporadically. The market is deemed to be balanced overall.
Demand from steel mills in Germany and neighbouring regions was decent in December, although deliveries are to come to a halt from 19 December onwards, with some exceptions. Shipment volumes will be about one third lower than normal because of the “shorter” month.
New steel scrap arisings remained high in Germany. Vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers were very busy.
