Still in a good spot.

Hanging a new calendar on the wall has not seemed to usher in a new supply-and-demand dynamic for ferrous scrap, as pricing remains strong in the first month of 2007.

Steel mill buyers were paying anywhere from $19 to $34 per ton more for the most common ferrous scrap grades in January purchases recorded throughout the United States.

The amounts varied by region, but all grades showed price gains, according to figures compiled by the Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) of Management Science Associates Inc. (MSA), Pittsburgh.

Nationally, mill buyers paid $27 per ton more on average for prompt industrial No. 1 busheling and bundles, $24 per ton for No. 2 shredded scrap and $23 per ton for No. 1 heavy melting scrap (HMS).

Combined with December gains, processors and shippers of ferrous scrap are seeing healthy increases that could be reflecting both seasonal availability of scrap because of foul weather and the need for mills to build back some inventory after an autumn of less frequent buying.

The trend is dramatically different from what was occurring in January of 2006, when the year started off with a thud as far as those favoring higher prices were concerned.

In January of 2006, mills paid $19 less per ton for No. 2 shredded scrap, reflecting what would turn out to be a low point in the market for the entire year.

Recyclers with orders to fill have begun to adjust their scale prices upward, although one scrap recycler based in the Eastern United States says the adjustment may not be necessary.

The combination of lower fuel costs and the continuation of historically high nonferrous scrap prices is keeping peddlers committed to finding scrap at the street trade level. (An unfortunate side effect: The theft of metal products also continues at unwelcome historic levels.)

The Eastern recycler notes that after his ferrous shear went down, the January price spike allowed him to sell some unprepared plate and structural scrap at a high enough price that he was able to ship profitably through his downtime.

As 2007 begins, it appears as if lofty prices will continue to allow scrap recyclers to operate on margins and spreads that can allow for such occasional mishaps.

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

MSA/RMDAS[TM] MONTHLY FERROUS SCRAP PRICE INDEX

RMDAS PRICING SHOWS HEALTHY GAINS

The New Year started out on a rising note In January, as shlppers of ferrous scrap received from 819 to 834 per ton more compared to the month before. Nationally, mill buyers paid 827 per ton more on average for prompt Industrial No. 1 grades, 824 more for No. 2 shredded scrap and 823 more for No. 1 heavy melting scrap (HMS).

Reported regional aggregated spot market prices per gross ton shown for each commodity are based on all Management Science Associates' (MSA) Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) participants' actual order data submitted to and processed by MSA as of the 20th of each respective "buy month," rounded to the whole integer. A map of RMDAS regions is available at http://rmdas.msa.com, as is a further explanation of RMDAS methodology and an accompanying disclaimer.

No. 2 shredded scrap is defined as containing .17 percent or greater copper content. The prompt industrial composite consists of an average of No. 1 bundles and No. 1 busheling. Additional pricing information on each grade can be found at www.RecyclingToday.com

[C]2007 Management Science Associates Inc. All rights reserved RMDAS is a trademark of Management Science Associates Inc.

January 2007 RMDAS Ferrous Price Index

                                      NORTH       NORTH
                     TOTAL U.S.   CENTRAL/EAST   MIDWEST   SOUTH

Prompt Industrial       $264          $265         $259     $262
  Composite
#1 HMS                  $233          $233         $235     $229
#2 Shredded Scrap       $256          $257         $251     $258
#2 Shredded/Change      +$24          +$23         +$27     +$24
  vs. Month Before