Steel scrap exports and consumption dropped during H1 2013 : BIR

LONDON (Scrap Monster): According to statistics released by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the steel scrap exports from major supply regions witnessed slowdown during the first half of the year 2013. There was a fall in scrap usage rate across regions.

According to BIR data, there was an increase in consumption of scrap by Chinese and South Korean mills. The total scrap consumption by China during the initial six months of the year amounted to 43.4 million mt, 5.1% higer over same period the previous year. The Japanese H1 scrap usage went higher by 1.5% over the year to stand at 16.6 million mt during H1 2013.

The scrap consumption by other major users decreased during the six-month period. The scrap usage by the EU region declined by 7.8% over the year to 46.1 million mt. The US consumed 8.7% less scrap over same six-month period the previous year. Turkey’s scrap usage also dropped by 7.9% to 15.1 million mt over the year during H1 2013.

BIR statistics also suggest a significant drop in scrap exports from large supply regions of the world. The scrap exports from the EU region were down 21.5% during the period from January to June this year. The total scrap exports from the region plunged to 8.145 million mt. The US saw scrap exports declining by 12% year-on-year to 9.922 million mt.