Japan's Kobe Steel has announced plans to evaluate the installation of a new, large-scale scrap melting furnace at its flagship Kakogawa Works, aimed at accelerating its low-carbon transition. This project serves as a key initiative to meet its corporate climate target of reducing carbon emissions by 38% by 2030 (compared to 2013 levels). By combining this high-capacity scrap melting technology with existing blast furnace infrastructures, the mill expects to significantly increase its utilization rate of high-grade ferrous scrap, thereby reducing dependency on virgin hot metal and pig iron inputs.

【SMM Steel】Mining and trading giant Glencore is offering a deep-sea ferrous scrap cargo from the EU for June shipment to Turkey via a Baltic-based exporter. The Baltic exporter entered the Turkish market in 2023 but had previously focused on smaller Mediterranean cargoes of 8,000-10,000 tonnes, as Turkish shipments of ~20,000 tonnes require stronger financing and freight management. Glencore has also signed an agreement with Polish transshipment specialist Lebal at Gdansk Port to strengthen export logistics. Turkey imports 18-20 million tonnes of scrap annually as the world's largest ferrous scrap importer. With CBAM implementation and global decarbonisation accelerating, scrap is being repositioned from a secondary by-product into a strategic core metallics input.

Leading US steel producers, including Nucor, Gerdau, and Optimus Steel, have announced a general price increase for rebar by $20 per short ton ($1.00 per cwt), effective immediately in May 2026. This move follows a period of price consolidation and is largely driven by rising raw material costs, particularly ferrous scrap, and sustained demand from domestic infrastructure projects. The hike brings the market price floor higher, signaling a shift toward a more hawkish pricing environment in the North American long products sector. If successfully absorbed by the market, this increase may prompt other regional mini-mills to follow suit, potentially raising construction costs across the US in the second quarter of 2026.

Kazakhstan has officially extended its ban on the export of ferrous scrap by rail and road for another six months. The measure is intended to ensure a stable supply of raw materials for domestic steel producers as they ramp up production to meet national infrastructure goals. Regional billet prices rose by $10–15 per ton following the announcement.

The world focus on sustainability is growing across the board, and the ferrous metals sector, a cornerstone of modern infrastructure and industry, is not exempt. From production at the raw material level of extraction through end product manufacturing in steel, environmental factors and the demand for a greener economy are precipitating radical changes.

The Recycling Today Media Group has announced that registration is officially open for Scrap Expo 2024, the metals recycling and auto dismantling industry's only live demonstration event.