Exports of Steel and Nickel scrap by the US ended 2016 on a high note

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade data published by the US Census Bureau and International Trade Commission (ITC) suggests modest rise in steel scrap exports by the country during the final month of 2016.

According to statistics, the scrap exports by the country totaled 1.354 million tons in Dec ’16. This is considerably higher by 8.3% when compared with the exports during the prior month. The country’s scrap exports had totaled 1.25 million tons in Nov ’16. The December exports were also up marginally over the previous year. The imports edged higher by 1.6% when compared with December 2015. The total value of US scrap exports amounted to $374.6 million during the month. The value of exports surged higher by over 15% over the previous month. Year-on-year, the export value was up significantly by nearly 25.7%.

The cumulative steel scrap export volume by the country during the full year 2016 totaled 11.505 million tons.

Meantime, the domestic US H1 scrap prices averaged at $286.17 per long ton, as on 7th February, 2017. The H1 scrap average price in Pittsburg was $289.50 per long ton.  The average price witnessed no change when compared with the previous week’s price. In Chicago the prices averaged at $292.50. The average price in Philadelphia was $276.50 per long ton.

Exports-Nov ‘16

The US exported 1.25 million tons of scrap during the month. When compared with the previous year, the exports were marginally higher by 3.8%. The main destination of US scrap exports during Nov ’16 was Turkey. The exports to Turkey totaled 286,000 tons, accounting for over one-fourth of the total exports. The exports to Turkey dropped by nearly 13% over the previous year. India was the second largest destination of US steel scrap exports. The exports to India rose sharply by 30% over the year to 178,000 tons. In third place was Taiwan with 115,000 tons. The US ferrous scrap exports to Taiwan surged higher by 86.4% when compared with November 2015.

Exports-Oct ‘16

The US ferrous scrap exports totaled 1.239 million tons in October 2016. The shipments out of the country increased significantly by nearly 10.5% month-on-month.

The largest importer of US ferrous scrap during the month was Turkey. The imports by Turkey from the US totaled 282,000 tons, accounting for almost 23% of the total shipments out of the US. The US ferrous scrap exports to Turkey surged higher by 9.6% over the previous year. The second largest destination of US scrap exports was Mexico. The Mexican imports totaled 148,000 tons, rising significantly by 12.1% when compared with October 2015. In third place was India with total imports of 123,000 tons during the month. The exports to India plunged lower by nearly one-third in comparison with the same month a year before.

The statistics published by the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) indicates that the country’s nickel scrap exports surged higher significantly during the month of December last year. The exports totaled 2,777 tons, significantly higher by almost one-fifth when matched with the exports of 2,315 tons during November 2016.

The largest importer of US nickel scrap during all of 2016 was Canada. The Canadian imports of US nickel scrap soared by 102.9% over 2015 to total 20,039.7 tons. The exports to Sweden increased by 74.3% over the previous year to total 2,905.2 tons in 2016. The imports by Japan too were up by 73.2% year-on-year to 1,636.5 tons during 2016.