Exports of U.S. Scrap Iron and Steel Surged 38%

The primary destination of exports through July was Turkey. The shipments to that country totaled $664.5 million, accounting for 18.8% of all U.S. exports.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The exports of scrap iron and steel by the U.S. during the first seven months of the current year recorded notable increase, says the latest U.S. Census Bureau data. The exports were up by nearly 38% from $2.56 billion to $3.53 billion over the comparable period last year. It must be noted that the full year scrap iron and steel exports by the U.S. had totaled $4.92 billion in 2018.

The primary destination of exports through July was Turkey. The shipments to that country totaled $664.5 million, accounting for 18.8% of all U.S. exports. The U.S. exports of scrap iron and steel to Turkey surged higher by over 60% over the previous year. The other key foreign markets were Taiwan ($398.76 million), Mexico ($384.33 million), India ($269.72 million) and China ($250.6 million). The exports to the above top markets totaled $1.97 billion, accounting for nearly 56% of all U.S exports.

Meantime, the U.S. scrap iron and steel imports, by value, totaled $1.12 billion through the first seven months of 2018. The imports were up by nearly 27% when compared to $880.52 million during the same period in 2017.

The leading source of import was Canada, with supplies totaling $692.99 million, representing over 62% of all shipments. The imports from Mexico totaled $145.05 million, whereas those from the Netherlands stood at $100.24 million. The other main suppliers of scrap iron and steel to the U.S. in Jan-July ’18 were the U.K. ($76.69 million) and Sweden ($45.4 million).