U.S. Aluminum Scrap Exports Rose Substantially

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest U.S. Census Bureau data suggests notable jump in aluminum scrap exports by the country during the previous year. The exports totaled $2.47 billion during 2018, significantly higher by 9.85% when matched with 2017. The country’s exports of aluminum scrap had totaled only $2.25 billion in 2017. Also, the monthly exports by value totaled $225.94 million in December 2018.

The top trade partner of the U.S. during 2018 was China. However, the exports to that country declined heavily by almost 39% when compared with the previous year, mainly due to strict import controls imposed by the Chinese administration. The U.S. exported $718.75 million worth of scrap to China, representing more than 29% of all U.S. shipments. In second place was South Korea, who imported $339.76 million worth of materials from the U.S. The other primary importers were India ($303.63 million), Malaysia ($214.08 million) and Mexico ($209.34 million).

The combined exports to the above top five foreign market destinations s accounted for over 72% of the total U.S. exports of aluminum waste and scrap.

Meantime, the U.S. imports of aluminum scrap too recorded approximately 9% improvement over the previous year. The imports surged higher from around $1 billion to $1.09 billion. The primary import sources were Canada ($645.52 million), Mexico ($295.09 million), Guatemala ($20.97 million), Venezuela ($10.56 million) and Chile ($8.84 million). Nearly 90% of all imports of aluminum waste and scrap by the U.S were from the above five countries, Census Bureau data said.