The reference price is for shredded obsolete scrap, delivered US Midwest mill. It will be published weekly, each Friday at 7:30am EST (12:30pm GMT), said TSI.

US ferrous scrap prices are a key indicator for world steel and scrap prices. Scrap is a critical raw material in the steel-making process, typically accounting for around 80% of electric arc furnace (EAF) route costs and 5-10% of blast furnace route costs. Scrap prices are also notoriously volatile.

TSI business development manager in North America Jeff Wickert said TSI has completed a ten-month consultation process with the industry before launching this US scrap index. TSI wanted to be absolutely sure this index represented the market accurately.

"We employ TSI’s distinctive data-driven methodology, collecting transaction prices from all relevant points in the supply chain and volume-weighting the sample," Wickert said.

The US domestic ferrous scrap index is the third in the TSI scrap series to go live, complementing its Turkish and Indian scrap import reference prices.