U.S. Scrap Iron and Steel Exports Dipped 12%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest U.S. Census Bureau data suggests notable decline in exports of scrap iron and steel by the country during the initial six-month period of the current year.

The U.S. exports of scrap iron and steel totaled $2.67 billion in Jan-June ’19, which is significantly lower by over 12% when matched with the exports of $3.04 billion during the corresponding half-yearly period in 2018. The monthly exports were valued at $550.24 million during the month of June this year.

The largest export destination for U.S. scrap iron and steel exports until June this year was Turkey. The country imported $507.92 million worth of the material, accounting for nearly 19% of the total U.S. exports. The U.S. exports to Turkey were down sharply by nearly 6% over the previous year. In second place was Taiwan with a market share of 11.94% of total U.S. exports. The exports to that country were valued at $318.72 million. The third largest importer was India, whose imports were valued at $247.19 million in Jan-June ’19.

The imports of scrap iron and steel by the U.S. too registered significant decline by almost 19% to total $755.2 million. The top five suppliers were Canada ($489.78 million), Mexico ($114.07 million), Sweden ($63.82 million), the Netherlands ($39.53 million) and the UK ($20.26 million). These five countries together supplied $727.46 million worth of scrap iron and steel, thereby accounting for over 96% of the total U.S. imports.