Metal supply issues sees increased demand for Eddy Current Separators

With the rising cost of energy and commodities being experienced globally, we are experiencing high demand for equipment that can assist our customers with the extraction of value from their waste streams.

In particular, the Steelweld Strobe Eddy Current Separator which extracts ferrous and non-ferrous metals from waste material streams.

In this time of political and economic unrest, our industry has seen a significant increase in the price of reclaimable commodities, particularly metals. This has been driven in the main by global supply issues and the rising cost of energy for the manufacture of virgin material.

With the war in Ukraine continuing, metal producers are seeing record price spikes. The London Metal Exchange has stated that between the 23rd February and 8th March, UK steel prices soared. Nickel costs increased by 97%, zinc by 16%, aluminium by 6.2% and copper at 3.5%. [1]

March also saw an announcement from British Steel that they will be increasing the price of steel sections by £250 per tonne, a record one-off increase for the UK’s second largest steelmaker. Steel plate for bridges hit £1,400 in February, this has increased further with a quote for 25mm thick product returned at £1,900 a tonne on the 11th of March. [2]

An increase in the cost of virgin material has a knock-on effect on the price of scrap metal, which has also seen significant price increases in recent months, in particular aluminium and steel.

Baled or densified aluminium cans have seen a 60% price increase year-on-year from £790 per tonne in March 2021 to £1,275 per tonne in March 2022. [3]

No. 1 steel scrap has seen a 25% price increase year-on-year from £215 per tonne in March 2021 to £265 per tonne in March 2022. This continues to rise daily. [4]

This has resulted in a significant increase in demand for our mobile metal separator the Steelweld Strobe ECS, which separates ferrous and non-ferrous metals from a variety of waste streams.

As the dealer for Steelweld within the UK and Ireland, we can supply this equipment for hire and sale. We have 10 eddy current separator units within our hire fleet, which are available for short- and long-term hire throughout the UK and Ireland.

For further information on our equipment solutions, contact us on 01565 723886 or at [email protected]

1. https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/russia-ukraine-war-uk-steel-prices/107530/
2. https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2022/03/11/british-steel-imposes-biggest-ever-instant-price-hike/
3. https://www.letsrecycle.com/prices/metals/aluminium-cans/
4. https://www.letsrecycle.com/prices/metals/ferrous-metal-prices/ferrous-scrap-metal-prices-2022/