Metal Commodities and Recycling Report, Goldsboro Metal Recycling, 801 N John St, Goldsboro, NC, 27530, 919-731-5600

Metal Commodities and Recycling Report
Goldsboro Metal Recycling
We Buy Junk Cars For More Cash
801 N. John St.

This is the Commodities and Recycling report, brought to you by BENLEE the industry leader in roll off trailers and open top scrap trailers, as well as Raleigh and Goldsboro Metal Recycling, the leaders in North Carolina for Scrap Metal, Cardboard, Electronics and Junk Cars.

 

Today is Monday, July 13th, 2015.  My name is Greg Brown, President and CEO of the companies.

 

There was nothing but turmoil and bad news in the markets last week, despite some very good news two weeks ago.  Today, Monday things remain very precarious with the Greek debt issue looking like there may be some resolution and China’s stock market being a key worry.

Steel Production

U.S. steel production came down a bit in the last two weeks after a few months of gains.  In recent weeks there has been word of a softening of orders in many industries which is a concern.

Oil Rig Count

One the positive side, we mentioned last week that automotive sales in June had hit a ten year high.  We can add that last week the oil rig count rose for a second week in a row, after 29 weeks of declines.  This along with strong automotive sales is a positive for U.S. steel consumption.  With that said oil prices dropped about 8% last week, which will probably stem this increase in U.S. oil drilling.

 

Oil production in the U.S remains strong and if there is a deal with Iran on nuclear issues, that will reduce world oil prices as Iranian oil flows freely.

Heavy Metal Price

Put together there was a dramatic change in ferrous prices last week.  This chart will show a dramatic drop with next week’s update.  Last Monday, there was word that some markets were stable and even up.  By Tuesday, all looked down a bit and by Wednesday as word in China and Europe turned negative, ferrous prices came down $20-$25 per GT.  As an example of bad news, the Chinese stock market after almost doubling in the past year fell 36% in about a month.

 

Since that the fall, the Chinese government stepped in last week and has been pouring money into their stock market, which toward the end of the week, had its best days since the crash of 2009.

 

Note that the lowering of steel prices will further reduce flow and profits in scrap yards, especially in the SE, but there is enough scrap metal coming in from Europe on barges to meet demand.

Copper Prices

Copper prices crashed along with steel last week.  Copper hit new 6 plus year lows on Wednesday.  Again as China slows, copper prices are hit hard.   With oil prices yet again coming down, this should work to increase consumer spending and should help copper prices.

Aluminum

Last week aluminum had almost the exact movement as copper, by hitting a new 6+ year low mid-week and then bounced up a bit.

 

These low volumes and profits in the scrap industry, took yet another toll last week.  Kemp Recycling that had three North Carolina operations two years ago, closed two of them about a year ago and there is word that the third and last one closed last Friday.  This mostly retail scrap yard is the type of yard that is being hurt very badly in this downturn that shows no sign of getting better anytime soon.

 

For current prices, please call us at 919-828-5426 in Raleigh, 919-731-5600 in Goldsboro.

 

With that we hope all have a Safe and Profitable week.   Tune in next week for the Commodity and Recycling report.

Metal Commodities and Recycling Report, Goldsboro Metal Recycling, 801 N John St, Goldsboro, NC, 27530, 919-731-5600

Goldsboro Metal Recycling

Metal Commodities and Recycling Report

March 30th, 2015

801 N John St

Goldsboro, NC, 27530 

919-731-5600

This is the Monday Commodities and Recycling report, brought to you by BENLEE the industry leader in roll off trailers and open top scrap trailers, as well as Raleigh and Goldsboro Metal Recycling, the leaders in North Carolina for Scrap Metal, Cardboard, Electronics and Junk Cars. 

Today is Monday, March 30^th, 2015.  My name is Greg Brown, President and CEO of the companies.

It was a quiet week in the markets, other than last Monday

Late afternoon last Monday, copper jumped 10 cents on COMEX and stayed there for a number of hours.  Other than that, copper started and ended the week the same way it started, about $2.78 per pound.  On the negative side of copper, sadly copper and copper alloy scrap exports were down 25 percent this January, year over year. Pic

Also, some will say Copper is a key global economic indicator.  For many years, copper has been called either Dr. Metal, or the metal with a PhD.  The Dr. name is due to many say, the health of the economy can be determined by the price of copper.  The PhD name is for PhDs are smart, so they know what is going on, meaning the price of copper is an indication of the strength of the economy.  Put together, things are ok, but not great.  Copper was about 68% higher in April of 2011, versus today.  It was $4.66 per pound in April 2011 and $2.78 today.

CME Group - Copper Prices Graph

As for steel, for those that missed last week’s report, it’s worth mentioning that about 10 days ago, Steel Dynamics which owns OmniSource the nation’s second largest recycler of metals, issued a profit warning to Wall Street.  They said profits were going to be lower than all had been expecting.  The flood of finished steel coming into the United States from overseas, lower volumes and the lower prices of scrap metal, were the stated reasons.  It was also stated that they would lose money this quarter in Recycling.  Nucor Steel, the second largest steel producer in the United States also issued a profit warning.  They gave the same two reasons as Steel Dynamics and said that their recycling operations would have declining profits.

Related last week there were various meetings in Washington DC with U.S. Senators, the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S Trade representative, to discuss possible dumping of steel into the U.S. from other countries below cost.  As part of this, the President of U.S. Steel has called for congress to act on what he says are these unfair trade practices.

Also, with the new month, steel prices may change this week.  Some say the move could be sideways and there are indications that some prices could be up.  A key issue is, shred feed remains very scarce, due to very low inflows of obsolete scrap.

AMM - Steel Production Graph

On the positive side, after a huge drop in US steel production, we are now seeing a small increase in production levels. 

With that, scrap metal prices remain at their multi year low. 

AMM - Scrap Metal Prices Graph

Aluminum after quite the drop in the past year has stabilized and saw some increases last week.  Many feel very good about the price of Aluminum, as the new Ford F 150 ramps up with its all-aluminum exterior.  Related there is word on the street that Chrysler is about to follow with aluminum exteriors.

AMM - Aluminum Prices Graph

Oil remains a mixed news story.  The oil and gas drilling rig count continues to decline in the United States.

Market Realist - Oil Rig Count Graph

Orders continue to slow down with steel mills making less steel for drilling rigs.  On the positive side as we continue to say, with prices of fuel remaining low, it is starting to have a positive effect on many parts of the economy as people and companies have more money in their pocket.

As for the recycling industry, there is no good news.  Volumes remain low, with margins going up a bit, not due to less competitive pressure, but due to pure math; as prices go down, margin percent goes up.  In reality though, with volumes down, profits are down.

There were no changes in our scrap metal prices last week in North Carolina, with our Raleigh prices of #1 copper being $2.20 per pound, but could go up this week.  Prepared Steel is still being purchased for $6.25 per hundred pounds.

Lastly, our best wished to Jim Lawrence, in his new role at AMM.

With that we hope all have a Safe and Profitable week.   Tune in next week for the Monday Commodity and Recycling report.