Why Scrap Prices at Shershah Move With the Calendar

Scrap prices don't just move with global metal markets and ship-breaking supply. They also move with the calendar in ways that repeat year after year at Shershah, and knowing the pattern helps explain a rate movement that has nothing to do with the material itself.

Ramadan slows collection, which can firm up prices

During Ramadan, informal scrap collection (the door-to-door and street-level gathering that feeds a lot of what eventually reaches Shershah) slows down noticeably, since the people doing that collection work are often fasting and working shorter hours. Less material moving into the market over a few weeks can tighten supply for common materials like iron and mixed metal, even though nothing about underlying demand has changed. This tends to unwind again once Ramadan ends and normal collection volumes resume.

Monsoon season affects what arrives, and its condition

Karachi's monsoon period is short but intense, and heavy rain affects both how much scrap moves through the city (flooded or waterlogged streets slow transport generally) and the condition of what does arrive, since material stored outdoors gets wet. Wet cardboard and paper lose value fast, since sodden paper stock is worth much less than dry stock and some of it becomes unsellable entirely. Metal scrap is less affected in value but more affected in timing, since fewer loads move on the worst days.

Construction season pulls on copper and aluminium demand

Karachi's construction activity has its own rough seasonal rhythm, generally picking up outside the peak summer heat and monsoon months. Heavier construction activity increases demand for copper wiring and aluminium extrusion pulled from renovation and demolition work, and that demand can show up as firmer prices for those two materials specifically during active building months, independent of what global metal prices are doing.

Eid and other holiday clusters

Short holiday periods around Eid and other major breaks briefly slow the whole market, similar to any bazaar in the city, simply because fewer shops are staffed and fewer sellers are making trips. This is a short-term effect, usually a few days either side of the holiday, rather than a lasting price shift.

What this means practically

None of these patterns are large enough to plan a sale entirely around, but they explain a lot of the "why did the rate move for no obvious reason" moments that come up over a year of watching this market. If a rate shifts and nothing about global prices or ship-breaking supply explains it, the calendar is often the quieter reason underneath.