The weekly US dock indexes are a mixed bag, with some showing price increases in Houston and San Francisco, and flat pricing in Los Angeles and Portland.
The weekly Houston export yard buying indices rebounded last Tuesday and climbed through the week, with the Davis Indexes for HMS 1&2 (80:20) increasing by $20/gt to $180/gt delivered, P&S 5ft increasing by $18/gt to $180/gt delivered, and shredder feed increasing by $10/gt to $125/gt delivered. Market participants said that, because some domestic mills aren’t buying during early May scrap trading week—in addition to the fallout from dismal worldwide oil prices in the last 24 hours—Houston dock prices will likely fall.
In Los Angeles, the Davis Indexes remained unchanged with HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $135/gt delivered, P&S 5ft at $154/gt delivered, and shredder feed at $88/gt delivered. The last decline in LA dock buying prices occurred on April 1.
The Davis Indexes in Portland were flat with HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $157/gt delivered, P&S 5ft at $167/gt delivered, and shredder feed at $109/gt delivered.
San Francisco was the only region with increased dock prices on the West Coast. The Davis Index for HMS 1&2 (80:20) increased by $19/gt to $159/gt and P&S 5ft increased by $25/gt to $177/gt, while the index for shredder feed increased by $18/gt to $124/gt delivered.
US West Coast prices for bulk increased on April 17, with bid and offer levels for bulk to India increasing to $260-280/mt cfr for shredded scrap, and HMS bulk from Australia sold to Vietnam for 250/mt cfr. The increase in bulk prices indicates there could be upward pressure at docks over the next few weeks.
Container prices are also experiencing an uptick to Taiwan, as Japan is tight on scrap.