In an attempt to crack down on metal thefts, scrap dealers in over half the states in the country are required by law to register with an online database established by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI). ISRI is a trade organization representing nearly 1,600 recyclers across the country. ScrapTheftAlert.com, allows users to alert others of metal thefts in the United States and Canada. After review and validation of the submitted alert, an e-mail is sent to all subscribers of the database service, within a 100 mile radius of where the scrap metal theft occurred.
Gary Bush, the national law enforcement liaison and director of material theft prevention at ISRI, reported an increase in the number of metal thefts in 2011. As law enforcement agencies are not required to report to the ISRI database, however, Bush said the number of theft alerts is not necessarily representative of the total number of actual thefts.
Since ScrapTheftAlert.com went online in 2008, 5,915 alerts have been issued. There are currently 12,066 registered users, with 4,323 of those being law enforcement officers, Bush reported. ...read more
- Demand up despite recent market dips
- Scrap Metals MarketWatch
- Steel imports decline in September
- EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT: Magnets
- Metals USA reports strong third quarter results
- Jobs and export data highlight importance of US scrap industry
- US Shredder and SECTA join efforts
- CellMark makes offer to acquire Alcan International
- General Metals to remove old buildings and equipment
- Steel import permits down three percent in October
- Coca-Cola Recycling launches recycling center in Texas
- Mechel launches experimental ferronickel-producing complex
- Columbus Steel Castings to install monitoring equipment
- AISI elects new chairman
- A CLOSER LOOK: Star Recycling with Harry Purnell
- Untha America opens larger headquarters
- Aginzo Consulting joins the Aluminum Association
- PSC Metals makes asset acquisitions
- Metalico posts sales of $169 million in third quarter
Demand up despite recent market dips
There was a classic stare-down and, true to form, somebody blinked. The participants were a large East Coast scrap exporter, loaded with inventory and headed into year-end, and hungry Turkish scrap buyers looking for a deal. In the end the exporter, concerned that the Turks might choose to purchase scrap from Europe or elsewhere, dropped their prices significantly. We are truly in a global economy.
The impact of that deal sent ferrous scrap prices lower by as much as $40 to $50 per ton along the East Coast and across the country in the beginning of November. Some shredders and mills dropped prices accordingly because they felt that market demand required it. Others opportunistically capitalized on the situation and increased their margins just because they could. The rumor mill, whipped into a frenzy by concerns about the European economy, was that demand for scrap and steel had fallen precipitously. ...read more