US ferrous scrap exports increased on an annual basis in July, with Turkey, Taiwan, and Malaysia the main shipping destinations for material from the US.
Total exports decreased by 18pc in August to 1.79mn mt from 1.52mn mt during the corresponding month in 2019, according to US Census Bureau data. In January-August 2020, US ferrous exports rose by 2pc to 10.8mn mt from 10.6mn mt through the first eight months of last year.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, exports to various countries surged considerably during the first eight months of the year. Turkey was the largest importer, accepting 2.98mn mt of ferrous scrap, up 23pc from Jan-Aug 2019. Taiwan followed with an increase of 2pc to 1.1mn mt, while Mexico saw a 21pc jump to 1mn mt.
Malaysian imports of US ferrous scrap doubled in Jan-Aug to 1.1mn mt over the prior-year period. Bangladesh also saw a 52pc import increase during the period to 834,949mt from 553,616mt.
East Coast
East coast ferrous scrap exports reached 851,835mt in August, rising from 597,802mt during the previous month.
West Coast
West coast ferrous scrap exports hit 384,108mt in August, up from 343,767mt a month earlier.
North America
With Section 232 tariffs repealed, Canada imported 14,451mt of US ferrous scrap in August. However, Mexico’s imports increased to 120,289mt from 80,019 in July, dominated by No 1 heavy melting scrap. This caused North American ferrous exports from the US to rise to 134,740mt in August from 89,001mt in June.
Through the first six months of the year, the US exported 568,129mt of ferrous scrap to Canada, rising by 27pc from the first eight months of 2019. Mexico imported 1.02mn mt in the Jan-Aug period, increasing by 21pc from 849,519mt during the year prior.