Imports of Copper Waste and Scrap by the US Surged 23% Through October

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade data published by the US Census Bureau indicate that the imports of copper waste and scrap into the country have surged considerably during the first ten months of the current year. The imports surged higher by 72% over the previous year. Meantime, exports of copper waste and scrap too have increased sharply by 23% year-on-year.

The imports of copper waste and scrap registered notable jump during the first ten months of 2017. The imports were up sharply by 72% to total $629.36 million during this period. The imports were valued at $366.65 million during the corresponding ten-month period in 2016. It must be noted that the imports were valued at $458.38 million during the entire year 2016.

The top exporter of copper waste and scrap to the US was Canada. The imports from Canada totaled $427.9 million, accounting for approximately 68% of total imports. The imports from the Mexico and Venezuela totaled $147.3 million and $9.4 million respectively. Panama ($7.5 million) and Colombia ($6.3 million) were the other primary exporters of copper waste and scrap to the US. The above five countries were responsible for nearly 95% of the total shipments by the US during the first ten months of 2017.

The top five Customs Districts by cumulative value of imports during Jan-Oct ’17 were Buffalo, Detroit, Laredo, El Paso, and Ogdensburg. The combined imports by these Customs districts amounted to $533.18 million, accounting for nearly 85% of all copper waste and scrap imported by the country.

The copper waste and scrap exports by the US totaled $2.24 billion through the first ten months of 2017, significantly higher by 23% when matched with Jan-Oct ’16. The top five importers of US copper waste and scrap exports were China, Canada, Germany, South Korea and Japan. The combined exports to the above five market destinations totaled $1.92 billion, which accounted for 86% of all copper waste and scrap exports by the US during the year-to-date period until October.

The largest importer of copper waste and scrap from the US was China with imports totaling $1.38 billion, accounting for over 61% of the total US shipments. The exports to China surged higher by 24% over the previous year. The imports by Canada totaled $245.3 million, rising sharply by 54% from the year before. In third place was Germany with imports from the US amounting to $120.6 million. The country registered 21% jump in import volumes over the previous year. The exports to South Korea and Japan totaled $101.9 million and $76.4 million respectively.

Among Customs districts, Los Angeles accounted for maximum exports with 30.2% market share. It was followed by New York City and Norfolk with market shares of 15% and 7.17% respectively. The other key ports that accounted for sizable shipment volume were Detroit and San Francisco. These five Customs districts accounted for 63% of exports of copper waste and scrap from the US during Jan-Oct ’17.