Ferrous scrap piles up on W. Coast, sparking fears
By Michael Marley, AMM

Published: Oct 28 2009 4:564PM

PHILADELPHIA -- Ferrous scrap exporters on the West Coast say they are worried about the volume of scrap piling up on the docks and the likelihood that they might not be able to sell much soon.

U.S. ferrous scrap exporters have booked sales of seven cargoes to China in recent weeks totaling about 250,000 tonnes, but not all will be shipped at the same time. Those are also the only sales to have been booked in recent weeks, another West Coast trader said, and most exporters don't look for any additional business until the end of December or start of the year at the earliest.

Many of the export yards and their feeder yards typically see between 100,000 tons and 200,000 tons coming through their gates each month, but without any new business that material is piling up.