US Ferrous scrap exports continued to decline through March this year

Author: Paul Ploumis28 May 2014 Last updated at 08:41:05 GMT

NEW YORK (Scrap Monster): The ferrous scrap exports from the US declined sharply during the initial three months of the year.

The ferrous scrap exports from the country totaled 3.43 million metric tons during Jan-Mar period, sharply lower by 36.4% when compared with the exports during the same period previous year. The weighted average price of ferrous scrap exports during the month averaged at $403 per metric ton, down by 4.1% over the previous year.

The exports of other scrap materials bounced back.

The scrap plastic exports during March totaled 397.04 million pounds. The volume of plastic scrap exports saw jump of 13.8% when compared with the February. The scrap plastic exports in March were higher by 18% when compared with the exports during March 2013.

The recovered plastic exports were marginally up by 2.2% over the previous year for the period through March ’14. However, the average price through February was down 3.5% year-on-year to 19.48 cents per pound.

The recovered paper exports through March totaled 4.88 million metric tons, almost 1% down when compared with the exports during Jan-Mar 2013.

The aluminum scrap exports during the initial three months of the year totaled 887.5 million pounds. The scrap exports declined by 12.2% over the three months in 2013. The price of aluminum scrap exports averaged at 78 cents per pound, down 1.2% year-on-year.