CRU: Copper in Steel Scrap Will Constrain Domestic Use

In the race to lower emissions, both steel companies and countries are promoting greater use of domestic scrap, but this approach has two key weaknesses. Firstly, using more steel scrap in one country will have no impact on global carbon emissions – it will simply see scrap use move from one country to another. Secondly, while at the global level there should be no constraint on scrap use due to higher levels of contaminants, at the country level this is far from the case. This analysis will feed into our view of scrap use and trade in CRU’s Long Term Steel Market Outlook, due in August.

In this Insight we demonstrate why many countries will not be able to use all of their domestic scrap without significant costly processing, and that trade in scrap will be vital to ensure steel scrap can make a full contribution to the decarbonization of the steel sector.