US Ferrous Scrap Exports Plunged 25% in August

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade data published by the US Census Bureau and International Trade Commission indicates significant decline in scrap exports by the US during the month of August this year. The exports during the month have declined by almost one-fourth upon comparison with the previous year. However, the shipment volume rose marginally over the previous month.

According to data, the country’s scrap exports totaled 1.32 million tons in August this year, 24.8% lower when compared with the exports during August 2016. The US had exported 1.76 million tons of scrap during August last year. When matched with the prior month, the country’s scrap exports reported slight gain. The exports had totaled 1.26 million tons in July this year. It must be noted that the country’s half-yearly exports had recorded a jump of 20.5% over 2016 to total 6.178 million tons. However, the exports of scrap have declined continuously for two months in a row now.

The cumulative exports during the first eight months of the year totaled 9.32 million tons. This is higher by 9.2% over the previous year. The US had exported only 8.53 million tons of scrap during Jan-Aug in 2016. The monthly exports averaged at 1.164 million tons through August this year. Going by the current rate, the US scrap exports are likely to total around 13.97 million tons during entire year 2017.

The largest export destination of US scrap during Jan-Aug ’17 was Turkey. The exports to that country totaled nearly 2.02 million tons, accounting for 21.6% of the total exports. The imports of US scrap by Turkey declined marginally by 0.9% when compared with the corresponding period last year. In second place was Mexico with imports of 1.26 million tons. The country accounted for 13.5% share of total US scrap exports during this period. Taiwan imported just under a million ton during the eight-month period, thereby accounting for 10.7% of total exports.

Meantime, the US exported 17.7% more nickel scrap during the month of August. The exports surged higher from 2,535 tons in July to 2,984 tons in August this year. The combined exports during Jan-Aug ’17 totaled 20.41 million tons. The top three export destinations were Canada (14.85 million tons), India (1.229 million tons) and Sweden (1.226 million tons).

The Census Bureau data also states that US exports of scrap iron and steel surged higher significantly by 33% to $2.99 million during the opening eight months of 2017. The leading foreign markets for scrap iron and steel exported by the US were China, Turkey and Taiwan.