U.S. Aluminum Waste and Scrap Exports Surged 19%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The U.S. Exports of Aluminum Waste and Scrap recorded notable surge during the initial three-month period of the current year. The exports during Q1 this year surged higher by 19% to total $579.86 million. The exports during the corresponding quarter last year had totaled only $487.28 million. The country had exported $2.25 billion worth of aluminum waste and scrap during the entire year 2017.

Despite series of restrictions imposed by Customs authorities, China continued to remain as the single largest importer of aluminum waste and scrap. The exports to China totaled $278.17 million, accounting for nearly 48% of the U.S. exports. The U.S. exports to South Korea totaled $73.74 million during the first three months of 2018. In third place was Canada with imports totaling $49.8 million. South Korea and Canada accounted for almost 13% and 9% market share of total U.S exports respectively. The other key export destinations were Mexico ($41.59 million) and India ($40.89 million).

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The cumulative exports to the above five countries totaled $484.19 million, accounting for nearly 84% of the total exports.

Meantime, the imports of aluminum waste and scrap by the U.S registered 3% decline over the previous year to total $240.66 million during Q1 this year. The imports had totaled $248.18 million during the first quarter of 2017. The imports totaled $88.7 million for the month of March alone.

The majority share of imports was from Canada. The country supplied $145.12 million worth of aluminum waste and scrap during Jan-Mar ’18, accounting for more than 60% of the total imports by the U.S. The other key sources of import were Mexico ($59.38 million), Guatemala ($4.91 million), Spain ($2.73 million) and Venezuela ($2.57 million). These top five countries together accounted for almost 90% of total U.S imports.