U.S. Aluminum Scrap Exports Shrink 5%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The most recent trade statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that exports of aluminum scrap registered marginal decline during the initial six-month period of the current year. The exports were valued at $1.17 billion during this period, slightly lower by 5.33% when matched with $1.24 billion during the corresponding six-month period in 2018.

China was the primary importer of aluminum scrap from the U.S. The value of exports to China totaled $257.38 million, accounting for nearly 22% of the total U.S. shipments. Meantime, the Chinese imports from the U.S. recorded notable decline by over 47%, compared with the previous year. In second place was India, with imports valued at $167.37 million. The imports by India surged higher significantly by approximately 48% year-on-year. South Korea emerged as the third largest importer, receiving $157.81 million worth of aluminum scrap from the U.S. The other key market destinations were Malaysia ($113.91 million) and Mexico ($95.6 million).

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The above five countries together received around 68% of the total aluminum scrap exported by the U.S. from January to June this year.

The U.S. imported $425.79 million worth of aluminum scrap during the first half of the current year. This compares with $544.82 million during the year-ago period, thereby translating into a year-on-year decline of nearly 22%. The top sources of import were Canada ($273.42 million), Mexico ($117.74 million) and Guatemala ($7.89 million).