Steel Scrap Logistics Tracking India — Inbound Visibility for Secondary Steel

India's secondary steel sector — Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) and induction furnace units — runs on steel scrap. India consumes over 30 million tonnes of ferrous scrap annually, sourced from collection yards, demolition projects, industrial waste, and imports. The logistics chain from scrap yard to furnace is one of the most opaque in Indian metals.

Why Steel Scrap Logistics Is High-Risk

Steel scrap at ₹25,000–35,000/MT is among the highest-value bulk materials moved by road in India. A 15-tonne truck of heavy melting scrap carries ₹3.75–5.25 lakh of material.

The specific risks:

Weight fraud: Scrap is sold by weight but density varies enormously — light shredded scrap vs heavy melting scrap have 3–4x density difference. Adding low-value lightweight material to heavy scrap is common and hard to detect without quality checks at delivery.

En-route diversion: High per-tonne value makes full route diversion attractive — truck dispatched from scrap yard never arrives at furnace.

Short delivery at weighbridge: Common across the scrap supply chain — accepted as normal variance by most EAF operators due to inability to prove pilferage.

Tracking Architecture for Scrap Logistics

GPS: Scrap yard to furnace — typically short-haul (30–150 km) but high-value. Route deviation and halt alerts.

Activity sensing using sensors: Physical discharge detection at non-authorised halts. Even on short-haul corridors, the time window for pilferage at a planned stop is sufficient for a partial discharge.

Weighbridge integration: Delivered weight vs dispatched weight reconciliation. Trips with activity sensing alerts AND weight shortage create a combined evidence case.

Grade and Quality Tracking

EAF operators buy scrap on grade specifications — heavy melting scrap (HMS), shredded scrap, turnings, cast iron. Intugine links trip records with incoming quality inspection data at the furnace entry, creating a per-supplier, per-trip quality and quantity record.

Import Scrap Tracking

India imports 6–8 million tonnes of scrap annually through Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Chennai, and Vizag. Port-to-EAF road movements follow the same tracking architecture — GPS + activity sensing from port exit to furnace gate.