Plate and structural steel scrap (P&S)

What it is

Heavy plate, beams, columns and ship plate cut to furnace size — clean, thick, dense material from demolition, shipbreaking and fabrication yards.

Plate and structural scrap is cut from steel that was originally thick: bridge girders, building columns, ship hulls, storage tanks, heavy machinery frames and plate offcuts from fabricators. The pieces are sheared or torch-cut to a length the furnace can swallow, commonly a maximum of 5 feet by 2 feet, with a minimum thickness of a quarter inch and often much more.

In practice P&S overlaps with HMS 1; the difference is that P&S is sorted for clean, heavy, prepared pieces with no attachments, no light sheet and no rust scale, and it usually trades at a premium to standard HMS 1.

Sources and destinations

Ship recycling at Alang, Chattogram, Gadani and Aliağa produces large tonnages of cut plate, much of which goes straight to re-rolling mills nearby rather than into the furnace. Demolition contractors and heavy fabricators are the other main sources.

Buyers are integrated and EAF steelmakers making long products, foundries that need a dense charge, and induction-furnace mills in India and Pakistan.

What to check

Thickness and size are the main points of dispute. A cargo sold as P&S but containing light pipe, sheet or unprepared structures will be downgraded on arrival. Paint and galvanising are generally tolerated in small amounts; attached concrete, refractory and non-ferrous fittings are not.

At a glance

• Thick, clean plate and sections cut to size
• Overlaps HMS 1 but sorted cleaner
• Ship plate is a major source
• Downgraded if light sheet or pipe is mixed in

Code: ReMA plate & structural (P&S) / No. 1 heavy melting

Where this grade goes

The main importing countries for this grade — each links to the country page with its mills, smelters, price references and named firms.

Other steel & iron grades and related guides