U.S. Scrap Iron and Steel Exports Slump 22%

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

The U.S. exports of scrap iron and steel totaled $1.14 billion in Jan-Mar ’19, which is significantly lower by over 22% when matched with the exports of $1.47 billion during the corresponding three-month period in 2018. The monthly exports were valued at $455.89 million for the month of March this year.

The largest export destination for U.S. scrap iron and steel was Turkey. The country imported $236.34 worth of the material and accounted for nearly 21% of the total U.S. exports. The U.S. exports to Turkey were down sharply by nearly 25% over the previous year. In second place was Taiwan with a market share of 13.49% of total U.S. exports. The exports to that country were valued at $153.81 million. The third largest importer was South Korea, whose imports were valued at $109.04 million in Jan-Mar ’19.

The imports of scrap iron and steel by the U.S. too registered marginal decline by almost 5% to total $395.47 million. The top five suppliers were Canada ($254.54 million), Mexico ($61.15 million), Sweden ($31.1 million), the Netherlands ($20.66 million) and the UK ($20 million). These five countries together supplied $387.43 million worth of scrap iron and steel, thereby accounting for almost 98% of the total U.S. imports.