Steel Products Prices North America

Ferrous Scrap Exports through March

Written by Brett Linton


March ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,096,231 net tons (994,485 metric tons) with Turkey, India, Mexico, Korea, and Taiwan being the top five countries receiving scrap from the United States. These five countries accounted for 73.5 percent of all scrap exports.

Total March ferrous scrap exports were 3.6 percent lower than previous month. March figures were lower than the 12 month moving average of 1,128,571 tons per month (April 2015 through March 2016 monthly average), but higher than the 3 month moving average of 947,068 tons per month (January 2016 through March 2016 monthly average).

The most significant change month over month went to Canada, which declined 68.1 percent from 106,948 tons in February to 34,076 tons in March. Canada’s 12 month moving average is just over 60,000 tons, suggesting February figures were abnormally high while March data was slightly low. Other significant changes include a 106.4 percent rise in Mexican tonnage, with 64,131 tons of exports in February jumping to 132,373 tons in March. Mexico’s 12 month moving average is 104,321 tons.

Comparing March 2016 to March 2015, March 2016 total scrap exports are 19.2 percent lower than the same month one year ago. This is primarily due to a heavy decline in tonnage to Taiwan and China, with Canada and Vietnam showing smaller declines also. An increase in exports to Turkey and India slightly negated the change.

The table below lists the top eight importing countries along with the total amount of exported ferrous scrap.

Below is a graph showing the history of total ferrous scrap exports, to use it’s interactive features and explore different countries you must visit out website by clicking here. If you need assistance with either logging in or navigating the website, please contact our office at 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

Brett Linton

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