Not all roses

Recycling Today, Dec, 2004

Prices paid by consumers for ferrous scrap continue to bring smiles to the faces of recyclers, but along with the rosy pricing have come several thorns for scrap processors.

Among the woes recyclers cite are renewed mill attempts to hold a tough negotiating line on pricing; a shortage of some grades caused by a manufacturing sector that is not churning out much industrial scrap; and serious transportation woes preventing the timely flow of outbound scrap.

Scrap recyclers throughout the U.S. have consistent complaints about both truck and rail shipping options.

On the rail side, a lack of available gondola cars has been a problem for some recyclers for many years. A resurging economy that relies more heavily on import-export shipping than ever before has been good news overall for railroads, but not good news for some of their smaller customers.

Ferrous scrap recyclers who need non-container rail cars running regional routes are feeling more neglected than ever. "Rail's just horrible; it's enough to make you cry," one ferrous shipper says bluntly.

A lack of available common carriers (vehicles with drivers), poses similar problems.

Transportation woes have some recyclers exploring handling outbound freight in house.

Scrap flow has been hampered by a lack of industrial generation in many regions, with one recycler saying the impact of manufacturing moving offshore "has never been more apparent than it is today."

(Additional news about ferrous scrap, including breaking news and consuming industry reports, is available online at www.RecyclingToday.com.)

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