Nickel scrap exports by the US report sharp decline in February

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): According to trade statistics released by the US Department of Commerce (DOC), the export of nickel scrap by the country declined by nearly 7% over the previous month in February this year. However, the average export price increased by 3.4%. The slight recovery in nickel scrap export volumes to China was offset by decline in export volumes to other destinations including Canada, Japan and India.

The nickel scrap exports from the US totaled 2,281 tons in February this year, significantly down by 7.27% when matched with the exports during the previous month. The US nickel scrap exports had totaled 2.460 tons during the first month of the year. The value of exports totaled $7.660 million during the month.

Canada was the largest importer of nickel scrap from the US in February this year. The imports by Canada totaled 1,783 tons, accounting for more than 78% of the total US exports. The Canadian imports dropped considerably over the month. The imports had totaled 1,872 tons in Jan ’17. The imports were valued at $5.350 million. The second largest export destination of US nickel scrap was Sweden. The imports by Sweden totaled 160 tons, valued at $474,000. The exports registered month-over-month decline when matched with 230 tons imported during January this year. In third place was Australia with 98 tons, valued at $881,000. The other key importers of US nickel scrap during the month were Japan (76 tons), Netherlands (72 tons), the UK (39 tons) and China (23 tons).

The cumulative exports during the initial two months of 2017 totaled 4,742 tons. The exports during the period were valued at $15.650 million. The largest export destination was Canada. The exports to that country totaled 3,655 tons during the two-month period. The Canadian imports of US nickel scrap were valued at $10.987 million. In second place was Sweden with 389 tons. The value of exports to Sweden totaled $1.024 million. Japan was the third largest export market during Jan-Feb ’17. The exports to Japan totaled 271 tons, which were valued at $1.221 million. The other key importers of US nickel scrap were Australia (144 tons), Netherlands (88 tons), Germany (49 tons) and India (46 tons).

The country’s nickel scrap exports had totaled 29,436 tons during the entire year 2016. The exports during the year were valued at $100.046 million. Canada continued to be the largest importer of US nickel scrap during the year. The imports by Canada totaled 20,039 tons, surging higher by almost 103% when compared with 2015. Canada was followed by Sweden with imports of 2,905 tons. The exports to Sweden increased sharply by 74.3% over the previous year. The other primary importers of US nickel scrap were Japan (1,636 tons) and the UK (1,467 tons). The exports during the first half of the previous year had totaled 14,873 tons. The Q3 ’16 exports had totaled 6,595 tons, whereas the exports had totaled 7,969 tons during the last quarter of the previous year.