US Exports of Ferrous Scrap Spiked During Jan-May ‘17

The scrap exports neared 5 million tonnes during the period, higher by almost 18% when matched with the previous year. Meantime, the export volumes to Turkey- US’s leading scrap export destination tumbled sharply during this period.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade figures published by the US Census Bureau and International Trade Commission suggests significant rise in overseas sales of ferrous scrap by the country during the initial five-month period of the year. The scrap exports neared 5 million tonnes during the period, higher by almost 18% when matched with the previous year. Meantime, the export volumes to Turkey- US’s leading scrap export destination tumbled sharply during this period.

The exports totaled 4.965 million tonnes in January-May 17, significantly higher by 17.7% when compared with the exports during the corresponding year-ago period. The US ferrous scrap exports had totaled 4.218 million tonnes during January to May in 2016.

The exports to Turkey dropped by nearly 24% year-on-year from 1.358 million tonnes to 1.035 million tonnes. The other countries to report decline in imports of ferrous scrap from the US were India and South Korea. The imports by India declined sharply by 47.8% to 295,094 tonnes. The South Korean imports of US scrap too were down considerably by nearly 36% to 218,024 tonnes during Jan-May ’17.

The decline in scrap exports to the above destinations was offset by notable jump in exports to other leading importing nations including Vietnam, China and Canada. The scrap shipments to Vietnam recorded phenomenal jump of nearly 725% to total 292,738 tonnes. The exports to China totaled 346,687 tonnes, surging considerably higher by 314%. The shipments to neighboring Canada too were up sharply by 110.8% to 277,162 tonnes. The other countries to register rise in scrap import volume from the US were Mexico (685,252 tonnes, up 65.1%) and Taiwan (604,369 tonnes, up 45.6%).

The US H1 scrap export prices rose for the third week in a row, rising by $3.34 per ton during the week ended July 10^th. Accordingly, average scrap export price in Pittsburg was $274.50 per long ton. The prices in Chicago and Philadelphia were $277.50 per long ton and $258.50 per long ton respectively.

The monthly scrap exports had totaled 1.77 million tons in April this year, significantly higher by 27.4% when compared with the year-ago month. The US scrap exports had totaled only 1.39 million tons during April 2016. When matched with the previous month, the exports were up by nearly 30% in April ’17. The scrap shipments by the US to overseas destinations had totaled 2.921 million tonnes during Q1 this year, higher by almost 28% when matched with the total deliveries of 2.289 million tonnes during Q1 ’16.

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