US Copper Waste and Scrap Exports Exceeded $2.5 Billion

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The monthly trade statistics released by the US Census Bureau suggests that the US exports of copper waste and scrap surged higher by 24% to touch $2.5 billion during the initial eleven-month period of the year. Meantime, the imports were up by 69% during this period.

The copper waste and scrap exports by the US has already surpassed the exports during the entire year 2016. The top destination of copper waste and scrap from the US was China. Nearly 62% of total US shipments were to China. The exports to China surged higher by 27% over the previous year to total $1.55 billion.

Canada received $268.5 million worth copper waste and scrap from the US during Jan-Nov ’17. The country accounted for nearly 11% share of total US exports. The exports to Canada witnessed 52% jump year-on-year. In third place was Germany with imports from the US amounting to $13.3 million. The country registered 17% jump in import volumes over the previous year. The other key importers were South Korea ($117.5 million) and Japan ($82.8 million).

The cumulative imports by the above five top-importing nations totaled $2.15 billion out of $2.5 billion, thereby representing nearly 86% of all exports by  the US during the eleven-month period from January to November in 2017.

ALSO READ: ICSG Published Copper Supply and Demand Data for Past Ten Years

The imports of copper waste and scrap registered notable jump during the first eleven months of 2017. The imports were up sharply by 69% to total $699.03 million during this period. The imports were valued at $414.64 million during the corresponding eleven-month period in 2016. The cumulative imports during whole year 2016 had totaled $458.38 million.

The top exporter of copper waste and scrap to the US was Canada. The imports from Canada totaled $474.7 million, accounting for approximately 68% of total imports. Canada more than doubled its exports to the US. The imports from the Mexico and Venezuela totaled $162.9 million and $10.1 million respectively. Panama ($8.4 million) and Colombia ($7.1 million) were the other primary exporters of copper waste and scrap to the US. The exports from Panama skyrocketed by nearly 700%. The above five countries were responsible for nearly 95% of the total receipts by the US during the first ten months of 2017.