The ferrous scrap buying bonanza has shifted to the Far East, with China replacing Turkey as the main destination for U.S. scrap exporters.

Not only have the Chinese topped many of their rivals in the amount of tonnage bought, but they've also boosted the prices paid for shredded scrap to $380 per tonne delivered, U.S. industry sources said. That's $30 more than the prevailing delivered-to-mill price in the U.S. market, and about the same margin over the best price Turkey has offered for the fragmented scrap.

The buying binge has kept West Coast scrap shippers busy for much of the past two months, but all realize that the shipping pace will slacken as the Asian nation prepares for the week-long Chinese New Year holiday next month.

All the bulk cargoes bought by the Chinese should have departed U.S. ports earlier this week or they run the risk of sitting in Shanghai and other ports racking up demurrage charges, one West Coast trader...