Steel scrap exports by the US jump 4% in November

By Paul Ploumis

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster):  The trade data published by the US Census Bureau and International Trade Commission suggests marginal rise in steel scrap exports by the country during the month of November last year. This is when compared with the exports during the same month in 2015. However, the exports were up when matched with the prior month.

The US steel scrap exports totaled 1.25 million tons during the month, marginally higher by 3.8% when compared with the previous year. The exports had totaled around 1.20 million tons in November 2015. The exports declined sharply by 9.3% from the previous month. The exports declined for the second month in a row.

The main destination of US scrap exports during Nov ’16 was Turkey. The exports to Turkey totaled 286,000 tons, accounting for over one-fourth of the total exports. The exports to Turkey dropped by nearly 13% over the previous year. India was the second largest destination of US steel scrap exports. The exports to India rose sharply by 30% over the year to 178,000 tons. In third place was Taiwan with 115,000 tons. The US ferrous scrap exports to Taiwan surged higher by 86.4% when compared with November 2015.

The US ferrous scrap exports declined from 10.563 million tons recorded in Jan-Nov ’15 to 10.151 million tons during the corresponding eleven months in 2016. The shipments out of the country were down by almost 4% year-on-year. Bangladesh reported highest year-on-year rise in scrap imports from the US. The imports by the country soared by over 200% during the eleven-month period. Other major destinations including Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan and China reported considerable decline in imports.

Exports-Oct ‘16

The US ferrous scrap exports totaled 1.239 million tons in October 2016. The shipments out of the country increased significantly by nearly 10.5% month-on-month.

The largest importer of US ferrous scrap during the month was Turkey. The imports by Turkey from the US totaled 282,000 tons, accounting for almost 23% of the total shipments out of the US. The US ferrous scrap exports to Turkey surged higher by 9.6% over the previous year. The second largest destination of US scrap exports was Mexico. The Mexican imports totaled 148,000 tons, rising significantly by 12.1% when compared with October 2015. In third place was India with total imports of 123,000 tons during the month. The exports to India plunged lower by nearly one-third in comparison with the same month a year before.

Exports-Sep ‘16

The US exported 1.12 million tons of scrap during the month. When compared with the prior month, the exports were down by 13%. The Sep ’16 scrap exports were down by 4.7% over the previous year. The largest importer of US ferrous scrap during the month was Turkey. The imports by Turkey from the US totaled 268,000 tons, accounting for almost one-fourth of the total shipments out of the US. The second largest destination of US scrap exports was Mexico. The Mexican imports totaled 188,000 tons. In third place was Taiwan with total imports of 126,000 tons during the month.

Meantime, the domestic US H1 scrap prices averaged at $286.17 per long ton, as on 17th January, 2017. The prices remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive week.

The H1 scrap average price in Pittsburg was $289.50 per long ton.  The average price witnessed no change when compared with the previous week’s price. In Chicago the prices averaged at $292.50. The average price in Philadelphia was $276.50 per long ton.