Players on the German ferrous scrap market are becoming increasingly worried about the market situation. It had been widely expected that market activity would slow further during July, the first month of summer holidays. But now, the shrinking order backlog at steel producers is also dampening hopes of a market recovery in the coming months. The steel mills’ demand for secondary raw materials is extremely low right now, which is putting increasing pressure on scrap prices.
"Modest”, "catastrophic” and "abysmal” were some of the more polite words used by metals recyclers to describe the current sales situation on the ferrous scrap market. As in the previous months, German steel mills were signalling only limited demand in July. Some mills had not purchased anything at all and orders were also being suspended in some cases, respondents told EUWID in the monthly market survey.
Producers of concrete reinforcing steel (rebar) and steel beams, in particular, were suffering as a result of the ailing construction sector in Germany and shrinking order backlogs. Steel production is being curtailed and employees are being put on short-time work, EUWID was told. Deep-sea export markets provided no relief, either.
Read the complete monthly report on the steel scrap market in Germany and access price tables and graphing tools here:
