Yesterday afternoon, Chicago shredded scrap was finalized at $420/ton, down $40/ton from March. A decline was expected for the month, and the $40/ton was on the higher side of what had been predicted to start the trade. The drop reverses a 3-month run of increases to start the year that saw a total of $100/ton in increases. Today shredded scrap sits $60/ton higher than where we ended last year, and domestic mills current pricing in the market reflects a similar premium. Expectations for the coming months are a sideways to softening raw materials market, which will undoubtedly be in the back of the minds of the domestic mills as they navigate forward.
On the tariff side, rebar has been spared from much of the drama that has played out over the last 2 weeks. More impactful on the rebar market was the Administration’s “proclamation” in February closing all the loopholes in the Section 232 tariffs that have been in place since 2018. Those measures are already in place, as recently reported. Last week, when the administration first announced reciprocal tariffs, they specifically excluded steel & aluminum from those reciprocal tariffs, rather defaulting to the 232 measures that were in place previously. Consequently, yesterday’s “pause” on many reciprocal tariffs again had little direct impact on the rebar market moving forward.
We will continue to update you with relevant market news. Have a great rest of the week.