The common austenitic stainless — kitchen sinks, tanks, pipe, sheet offcuts, utensils — valued for its nickel and chromium and priced off the LME nickel price.
The common austenitic stainless — kitchen sinks, tanks, pipe, sheet offcuts, utensils — valued for its nickel and chromium and priced off the LME nickel price.
Grade 304, the 18 per cent chromium / 8 per cent nickel austenitic steel, accounts for the largest share of stainless scrap. Solids include sinks, tanks, vessels, pipe, sheet offcuts, cutlery and utensil scrap, and fabrication trimmings. The ReMA Sabot grade covers clean 18-8 solids, free of other alloys, with limits on attached carbon steel, plastic and non-ferrous fittings.
Stainless scrap is sorted by its magnetic response (304 is non-magnetic when annealed) and increasingly by handheld XRF analysers, which give the nickel and chromium content in seconds.
Stainless scrap is bought mainly for the nickel it contains, so quotations follow the LME nickel price and the stated nickel percentage. An 8 per cent nickel scrap is worth far more than a 400-series stainless with none. Stainless mills in India, China, Italy, Spain, Finland, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States run largely on scrap, and a 304 melt can be charged with 304 scrap almost entirely.
Exports flow from the US, Europe and Japan to India, Taiwan, South Korea and China, and within Europe to the Italian, Spanish, Belgian and Finnish mills. Lots are assayed on arrival; 316, 200-series and 400-series pieces found in a 304 lot are deducted or re-priced.
Code: ReMA Sabot (stainless steel scrap, 18-8)
The main importing countries for this grade — each links to the country page with its mills, smelters, price references and named firms.