U.S. Reports Substantial Drop in Scrap Iron and Steel Exports

The U.S. exports of scrap iron and steel registered huge decline during the initial four-month period of the current year. The exports dropped by nearly 21% to total $2.02 billion during this period. This compares with the exports that were valued at $1.59 during Jan-Apr ’18. The monthly exports were valued at $454.43 million in April this year, Census Bureau data said.

The primary market destination of U.S. scrap iron and steel exports was Turkey. The exports to that country totaled $297.98 million through April this year, accounting for nearly 19% of the total U.S exports. The exports to Turkey declined sharply by more than 28% over the previous year. The second largest importer was Taiwan, whose imports from the U.S. totaled $207.67 million. In third place was South Korea with $139.07 million. The other key importers were India ($134.8 million) and Mexico ($115.54 million).

The exports to the above top five trade partners received almost 56% of the total shipments by the U.S. during Jan-Apr ’19.

Meantime, the U.S. imports of scrap iron and steel too witnessed decline. The imports, which totaled $524.35 million, were down by almost 7% when compared with the previous year. The top sources of import were Canada ($342 million), Mexico ($79.82 million), Sweden ($42.45 million), the Netherlands ($30.6 million) and the UK ($20.17 million). More than 98% of all U.S. imports of scrap iron and steel were from the above five countries.