How will the shipwreck on the Moselle River affect scrap markets?

Last week on the Moselle River in Germany, a ship carrying scrap materials hit a crossing on the river. This incident also affected the market.

While the incident negatively affected ship traffic in the region, the collision prevented 70 ships from moving along the river between Luxembourg and Koblenz. With the decision taken after the incident, the waterway was closed until March 2025. This is expected to cause major disruptions in the logistics sector.

ArcelorMittal is relying on barges for scrap deliveries, affecting deliveries to Luxembourg and other steel mills and scrap suppliers, while suppliers in southwest and northwest Germany will stop sending material to Luxembourg due to high trucking costs. In addition, other German steelmakers such as Dillinger Huttenwerke, Georgsmarienhutte Holding and Saarstahl are said to be affected.

According to comments from market representatives, some said that this may lead to an increase in the scrap market, lower scrap collection costs and more scrap for exports, while others said that although there may be a supply shortage due to the winter season, this will not affect Türkiye's imported scrap purchases to a great extent.