Turkish Ferrous Scrap Imports Soared in January

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recently published government statistics indicate that ferrous scrap imports by Turkey recorded significant jump during the first month of the current year.

According to data, the country imported nearly 1.68 million tons of scrap in January 2018. This is significantly higher by 10.3% when compared with the imports during the corresponding month a year before. The Turkish scrap imports had totaled only 1.53 million tons in January 2017. However, the imports dropped sharply from the prior month. When matched with Dec ’17 imports, the imports declined by nearly 17%. Turkey had imported nearly 2.02 million tons of scrap in Dec ’17.

The single largest supplier of ferrous scrap to Turkey during the month was the US. The imports from the US totaled around 280,000 tons, accounting for almost 23% of the total Turkish monthly scrap imports. The US exported over 27% more scrap to Turkey during the month. In second place was Russia with 210,000 tons, representing an import market share of nearly 13%. The scrap imports from Russia rose significantly by more than 16% over the previous year. The UK, the third largest exporter, accounted for 12.1% of Turkish scrap imports. The imports from the UK totaled around 200,000 tons and recorded growth of nearly 20% in volume from the previous year.

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Turkish scrap import prices had increased sharply to touch a new 3.5-year high last week, mainly on account of robust local demand for rebar. Consequently, some domestic mills have raised their purchasing prices, leading to jump in domestic scrap prices.

Meantime, demand for imported scrap in Turkey is feared to fall badly in the forthcoming months. The imposition of hefty tariffs may lower the demand for Turkish steel in the US, which in turn could lead to drop in steel production. Reduced steel production is bound to lower the scrap demand.