Steel mills rely on scrap for the production of steel more so today than at any other time in history. Since 1960, the amount of scrap used per ton of steel produced has more than doubled, from less than a ¼ ton of scrap per ton of steel produced to nearly a ½ ton of scrap per ton of steel produced.
With this increasing reliance on scrap, steel mills have found that they are unable to meet their scrap needs with home scrap and have been forced to look to external sources for a growing percentage of their scrap. In 1965, purchased scrap accounted for only about 38 percent of all the scrap used by mills. Today, outside scrap makes up nearly 75 percent of the total. Due to this increased reliance on outside scrap, the efficiency of a mill’s scrap purchasing program is essential to its profitability.
Equally important to the success of a mill’s scrap purchasing program is the quality and consistency of its scrap intake. While cheaper grades of scrap may appear to be a better value, the non-ferrous content of such grades often results in higher slag content when melted and therefore a lower yield for the melt. Moreover, cheaper grades of scrap often contain high levels of copper, tin and other alloys, which can lead to missed melts if introduced to mixes.
AMG is experienced at helping mills and foundries efficiently manage scrap purchases, which can account for more than 50 percent of the production cost of steel. Unlike many other scrap managers and brokers that merely take orders for mills, AMG works with mills and foundries to design full-service scrap management programs. This includes designing optimized purchase plans, identifying scrap sources, arranging for transportation, testing chemistries and performing any other services the customer may need. |