Steel giant Corus has revealed that it is not taking in any scrap at present and the situation looks unlikely to change until the first quarter of 2009 at the earliest.
Mr Garvin Freeman commercial manager at Corus said that that "We have enough scrap to fulfill our order book for the next few months not only was the price paid for steel can packaging still at zero following a sharp fall in prices last month but the company was not taking in any material at its four sites across the UK."
Mr Freeman said that "At the moment we are not taking in any more scrap of any description, not just packaging. We have enough scrap to fulfill our order book for the next few months. Hopefully we will be reviewing that in the first quarter. Whether there will be any change then I don"t know."
He added that "The general market for steel scrap is very poor. I understand some people are buying cans but there is not a lot of activity or export."
Mr Freeman explained that while Corus had been at the forefront of steel can recycling in the UK and would continue to be in future, it was manufacturing which created demand and all markets were currently being affected.