Nickel Waste and Scrap Exports by the US Rose 31%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent statistics published by the US Census Bureau suggests significant jump in exports of nickel waste and scrap by the country during the initial eight-month period of 2017. The exports were up considerably by 31% over the previous year. The exports of nickel waste and scrap totaled $80.5 million during Jan-Aug ’17 as compared with the exports of $61.4 million during the similar eight-month period in 2016.

The primary importer of nickel waste and scrap from the US was Canada. The YTD imports by Canada surged higher by nearly 64% from the previous year to total $60.95 million, representing more than three-fourths of the total US exports during this period. The second largest destination was the UK. The imports of nickel waste and scrap from the US totaled $3.64 million, accounting for 4.5% market share of US export. The exports to the UK dropped sharply by 45% from the year before. In third place was Australia with imports of $3.19 million. The imports by that country more than doubled upon comparison with 2016. The other key export destinations were Japan ($3.1 million) and Sweden ($3.04 million).

The top five importers together accounted for 92% of all the nickel waste and scrap exported by the US through August this year.

The US exported $47.9 million worth of nickel waste and scrap through Buffalo customs district. The other customs districts to record largest volume were Detroit ($10.4 million), Los Angeles ($4.6 million), New York City ($4.1 million) and Norfolk ($3.6 million).

Meantime, imports of nickel waste and scrap by the US skyrocketed by 49% during the YTD period through August. The imports totaled $126.43 million during Jan-Aug ’17. The top five sources of US imports were the UK, Canada, Germany, Japan and China. UK-the top exporter reported 9% decline in shipments to the US. The imports from Canada rose sharply by over 41% to total $16.8 million. Germany too reported 10% jump in export volumes of nickel waste and scrap to the US during the eight-month period. The imports from Japan and China were valued at $11.46 million and $11.41 million respectively.

The top five customs districts for imports were New York City, Los Angeles, Charleston, Cleveland and Laredo. The quantity of nickel waste and scrap that entered the US through these districts’ ports totaled $72.34 million, accounting for 57% of the country’s total imports during the eight-month period.

According to Census Bureau data, the US imports of nickel waste and scrap had totaled $142.96 million during the entire year 2016.