US steel scrap exports rose sharply in February

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

April 11, 2016 05:09:48 AM

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): The steel scrap exports by the US during the month of February 2016 rose significantly, as per the latest statistics released by the Department of Commerce (DOC). According to government data, the steel scrap exports totaled 1.03 million tons during the month.

The exports during Feb ’16 were up significantly by 86.9% when matched with the exports during the previous month. The country had exported 552,000 tons of steel scrap during January this year. The exports increased marginally by over 4.8% when compared with 983,000 tons exported during January 2016.

The largest export destination of US scrap was Turkey. The US scrap exports to Turkey totaled 262,000 tons during the month. The exports dropped sharply by 33% when compared with the same month a year before. Turkey had imported 391,000 tons of steel scrap from the US during February last year.

The second largest importer of US scrap was India. The scrap exports to India jumped significantly higher by 352% over the previous year to total 146,000 tons. The other key export destinations were Canada (97,000 tons, up 99% year-on-year), Taiwan (93,000 tons, down 26.7%) and South Korea (90,000 tons, up 344%).

The exports during Jan ‘16 were down by 47% when matched with the exports during same month the previous year. US scrap export volumes had dropped sharply by 15% during the entire year 2015 to touch the lowest level in nine years.