RMDAS figures show February surge in recycled steel’s value

American steel mill ferrous scrap purchasing transaction figures for late January and the first 20 days of February show an increase in value from $30 to $50 per ton during the time frame.

The transaction data gathered by Pittsburgh-based MSA Inc.’s Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) show the service’s prompt industrial composite scrap grade has risen from an average national price of $396 per ton last December to $466 per ton this February.

That $70-per-ton surge in a two-month span equates to a 17.7 percent average increase in the value of factory-generated prime ferrous scrap in the United States.

The boost marks a sharp contrast with the ferrous pricing trend in 2024, when, according to RMDAS, recycled steel values fell or stayed relatively flat in 10 out of 12 months.

Regional price differences in the February buying period were narrower than in some recent months, though No. 1 heavy melting steel (HMS) was more expensive for mills in the South compared with the other two RMDAS regions.

While mills in the U.S. Midwest and North Central/East regions purchased No. 1 HMS for an average of $380 per ton in late January and into February, southern mills paid an average of $399 per ton.

Nationally, No. 1 HMS gained $30 per ton in value in February, trailing the $44-per-ton rise in value for RMDAS No. 2 shredded scrap and a $50 spike in what mills paid nationally for prompt scrap.

Disruptive winter weather that has curtailed supply has been cited as one cause of the rise in ferrous scrap’s value in 2025. Regarding prompt scrap, some of which is generated at auto stamping plants, that sector’s slowdown in January also likely affected supply.

On the demand side, domestic steel mills have started the year at a slightly slower pace of production compared with early 2024, though demand from the mill and foundry sector likely trails supply shortages as a factor in the January and February price increases.