U.S. Aluminum Scrap Exports Until May 2018 Soared 20%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests significant jump in exports of Aluminum Waste and Scrap by the country during the initial five-month period of 2018.

The exports during the period from January to May in 2018 have surged higher by 19.81% to total $1.02 billion. The exports during the corresponding five-month period in 2017 had totaled only $854.75 million. The country had exported $2.25 billion worth of aluminum waste and scrap during the entire year 2017.

Despite tougher restrictions on imports by Chinese authorities, China continued to be the largest export destination of aluminum waste and scrap from the U.S. The exports to China totaled $433.62 million, accounting for nearly 42% of the total U.S. exports. The shipments to China registered marginal decline by 3.25%, upon comparison with the previous year. The U.S. exports to South Korea totaled $129.48 million during the first five months of 2018. In third place was Canada with imports totaling $87.21 million. The other primary export destinations were India ($86.19 million), Mexico ($80.78 million) and Malaysia ($61.51 million).

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The combined shipments to the top five foreign markets totaled $817.28 million, accounting for nearly 80% of the total exports.

Meantime, the imports of aluminum waste and scrap by the U.S recorded marginal increase by nearly 1% over the previous year to total $433 million during Jan-May ’18 this year. The imports had totaled $428.71 million during the corresponding period last year.

The primary source of imports was Canada. The country supplied $259.56 million worth of aluminum waste and scrap during Jan-May ’18, accounting for almost 60% of the total imports by the U.S. The other main suppliers were Mexico ($111.75 million), Guatemala ($9.12 million), Spain ($4.46 million) and Chile ($4.14 million). The top three exporters-Canada, Mexico and Guatemala recorded jump in export volumes of aluminum waste and scrap to the U.S.