Skip to main content

Higher tempo to US ferrous scrap exports

United States – The opening two months of this year produced a massive 54% increase in US ferrous scrap exports as nearly all leading consumers booked more material.

According to latest stats from the Census Bureau and International Trade Commission, a shade over 2.1 million tonnes left American shores in January-February 2017 as against just 1.368 million tonnes in the same period last year.

Turkey, America’s leading overseas buyer, upped its purchases of US scrap by 19% year on year to 437 533 tonnes while Mexico almost tripled its bookings from 114 255 tonnes in January-February 2016 to 333 821 tonnes. US exports to Taiwan surged 82% to 235 549 tonnes while South Korea and China raised their purchases by, respectively, 37% to 137 545 tonnes and 244% to 104 945 tonnes.

Vietnam and Thailand also posted strong import gains, with the former boosting its purchases of US ferrous scrap by a spectacular 1500% year on year to 157 485 tonnes in January-February 2017 while the increase for the latter was a more conservative but still impressive 58% to 107 164 tonnes.

While India and Pakistan represent strongly emerging markets for ferrous scrap, their imports of US material were significantly lower in the first two months of 2017.

India reduced its purchases by 82% year on year to 38 741 tonnes while Pakistan trimmed its incoming volumes by 34% to 43 387 tonnes.

Don't hesitate to contact us to share your input and ideas. Subscribe to the magazine or (free) newsletter.

You might find this interesting too

Mercedes-Benz and Nucor in ‘green’ steel tie-up
‘Sustainability hub’ to help UK metal recyclers decarbonise
Nucor backs biggest rebar micro mill

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe now and get a full year for just €169 (normal rate is €225) Subscribe