Copper Waste and Scrap Exports by the U.S. Surged 24% in 2017

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest US Census Bureau trade statistics suggest considerable jump in exports of copper waste and scrap by the country during 2017. The imports of copper waste and scrap by the country too jumped higher significantly during the year, when compared with 2016.

The US exports of copper waste and scrap totaled $2.76 billion in 2017. This is considerably higher by 24% when matched with the prior year. The exports had totaled only $2.23 billion in 2016.

The largest destination of copper waste and scrap exports from the US was China. The exports to China totaled $1.712 billion, accounting for almost 62% of the total shipments by the US during the entire year 2017. In second place was Canada with imports totaling $285 million. Germany, the third largest importer, received $144 million of copper waste and scrap from the US. The other primary export destinations were South Korea ($133 million) and Japan ($90.3 million). Nearly 86% of all the copper waste and scrap exports from the US were shipped to the above top five foreign markets.

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Meantime, the inward shipments of copper waste and scrap into the US witnessed sharp jump by 66% during the previous year. The imports skyrocketed from $458.38 million in 2016 to $760.1 million in 2017.

The top exporter during the year was Canada. Nearly 68% of the total copper waste and scrap imported by the US has arrived from Canada. The imports from the neighboring country amounted to $513 million. The shipments by Mexico totaled $178 million, whereas those from Venezuela amounted to $12 million. The other major suppliers were Panama ($9.6 million) and Colombia ($7.5 million). The above five countries accounted for almost 95% of the total copper waste and scrap imported by the US during 2017.