Scrap Metal, Recycling, Global Economic and Commodities Report 3/9/26

This is the Recycling, Scrap Metal, Commodities and Economic Report, March 9th, 2026, produced by BENLEE Roll off trailers to support our customers, suppliers, and partners.

U.S. weekly raw steel production fell to 1.811MT down .3% from last year and up 5% year to date. This was on the 50% steel tariff protection and the slow growth U.S. economy.

Crude oil WTI price hit $109/b. when we wrote this last night, about double in the past 90 days. 20% or more of global oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz that is shut down. The U.S. Ok’d India to buy Russian oil and the U.S. may release strategic oil reserves to get prices down.

U.S. weekly crude oil production fell slightly to 13.696Mb/d. It will rise in the coming weeks with the dramatically higher prices.

U.S. weekly crude oil rigs rose to 411 and will rise further due to higher oil prices.

Scrap steel #1 HMS price composite was steady at $388.33/GT. There are many positives and negatives hitting prices.

Hot-Rolled coil steel price rose to $51.60/cwt., $1,032/T. The 50% steel tariff protection is allowing steel mills to increase profit margins.

Copper price fell to $5.84/lb., on the higher U.S. Dollar. The oil spike could cause inflation. High inflation brings slower interest rate cuts, which hurts growth, which hurts copper prices.

Aluminum price surge to $1.55/lb., $3,426/MT. This was on near record low inventory levels, tight supplies and halting major aluminum production in the Middle East.

U.S. February non-farm payrolls, the jobs report. Jobs fell by 92,000, well below the positive 59,000 forecast. The low number was partly caused by a 31,000 person nurses strike in California. Healthcare, information services, federal jobs, and manufacturing were all down. Manufacturing jobs are now down by 100,000 in the past 12 months. Tariffs should increase manufacturing jobs in 2026.

The U.S. February unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, but is still fairly low. The broader rate, which includes discouraged and underemployed people, fell to 7.9%, which is not shown here.

U.S. January retail sales rose 3.2% from last year. Not shown here, but they fell in January vs December. Wealthy consumers are doing well but a record number of people are tapping their 401K. to pay bills.

U.S. February average hourly earnings rose 3.8 percent vs last year which was slightly above forecast. It was also slightly above inflation so it is helping spending power.

U.S. February ISM manufacturing PM index fell to 52.4, but remained in expansion. New orders and productivity rose while employment fell. Productivity keeps hiring low as production increases.

Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,476 points to 47,502 on the Iran war and the poor jobs report. Higher oil prices will hurt manufacturing and consumer spending.