Scrap metal market falls for fourth consecutive month.
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The scrap metal market report for November continues to fall as ferrous scrap values fall to their lowest in 10 months. The price for crushed autobodies dropped an additional 4.5% this past month though compared to last year scrap metal prices are over 14% higher. Focusing on this year, since the high water mark of scrap steel prices in July, we are looking at a 13% decrease over the course of four months. As we near the end of 2018, the national average price for crushed autobodies sits at $187/ton though as we will see prices are being impacted differently around the country.
While scrap metal values fell across the whole country, the amount prices dropped varied by a wide amount among regions. On the west coast in Zone 1 the price for crushed autobodies only fell $1/ton or about half a percent. A stark contrast would be the other side of the country in Zone 5 (southeast) where the price for scrap steel is down $20/ton, almost 10%. The regions in the middle of the country fell somewhere in between.
Market News: Mid-term elections effect on North American trade agreement.
Last month, we covered the details of the new North American trade agreement that pertained to the auto industry. Since the announcement of USMCA at the start of October, the mid-term elections took place with Democrats taking over control of the House of Representatives. The trade deal could now be upended as it is unlikely it will be passed through the house without changes pushed by Democrats. According to the New York times, “House Democrats are particularly concerned about a provision that would require at least 30 percent of the labor used to build each car in Mexico to be completed by workers earning at least $16 an hour.”
There may not be an immediate conclusion to this update trade agreement so we will continue to follow the story. Keep in the conversation right here with Advanced Remarketing Services and follow our monthly scrap metal market updates and more “Market & Metals” content. Subscribe below to follow our blog via email or check it out on Facebook or LinkedIn.