US ferrous scrap exports trended down by 1pc in September from the same month last year, though Malaysian shipments tripled during the period.
Total exports decreased by 1pc in September to 1.10mn mt from 1.19mn mt during the corresponding month in 2019, according to the US Census Bureau data. In January-September 2020, US ferrous exports rose by 2pc to 11.9mn mt from 11.7mn mt through the first nine months of last year.
Exports up in Jan-Sep
Turkey imported 3.1mn mt of US ferrous scrap through the first nine months of 2020, up 17pc from the same period last year. Malaysian imports of US ferrous scrap rose doubled in the same period, tallying at 1.3mn mt, from 566,740mt. Exports to Bangladesh also rose by 39pc to 1mn mt in January-September, compared with 723,465mt in the same timeframe last year.
Malaysia increases shipments
Shipments of US ferrous scrap to Malaysia rose three-fold to 186,684mt in September despite the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Turkey continued to be the largest importer, even though shipments to the country fell by 32pc to 189,007mt. Bangladesh was the third-largest importer of US ferrous scrap, accepting 169,375mt, flat from September 2019.
Exports from the coasts down in Sep
On a monthly basis, East Coast ferrous scrap exports reached 487,486mt in September, falling from 851,835mt in August. West Coast ferrous scrap exports hit 352,359mt in September, down slightly from 384,108mt in the previous month.
North American Fe trade
Canada imported 18,249mt of US ferrous scrap in September, up from 14,451mt in the previous month. On the other hand, Mexico’s imports were flat at to 120,670mt during the same period with half of the scrap exported consisting of No 1 heavy melting scrap.
In January-September 2020, the US exported 601,675mt of ferrous scrap to Canada, a rise of 26pc from the first nine months of 2019. Mexico imported 1.14mn mt up 13pc from 1.01mt during the same period.