U.S. Census Bureau Reported 10% Dip in Scrap Iron and Steel Exports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest trade statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau recorded nearly 10% decline in U.S. scrap iron and steel during 2019. The yearly exports dived from $5.91 million in 2018 to $5.34 billion in 2019. The exports through November last year too had recorded almost 10% decline. The monthly exports totalled $421.67 million by value in December 2019.

The primary export destination of scrap iron and steel from the U.S. was Turkey. The exports to that country totalled $1.05 billion by value, accounting for almost one-fifth of all U.S. shipments. The second largest destination was Taiwan, which imported $656.3 million worth of the material from the U.S. In third place was India with imports of $502.57 million. The other key export destinations were Malaysia ($370.13 million) and Vietnam ($368.73 million).

The above top five foreign markets received over 55% of total scrap iron, steel exports from the U.S.

Meantime, the imports of the material by the U.S. recorded sharp year-on-year decline by more than 28% to $1.3 billion in 2019. The imports had totalled $1.8 billion in 2018. The key sources of import were Canada ($878.59 million), Mexico ($206.31 million), Sweden ($77.18 million), the Netherlands ($54.78 million) and UK ($48.12 million).