World Ferrous Scrap Trade a Mixed Bag in 2021

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The world ferrous scrap imports and exports were a mixed bag in 2021.

The data published by Japan Customs indicates that the country exported nearly 7.3 million tons of ferrous scrap during the previous year, significantly down by 22%, in comparison with 2020. The largest export destination was South Korea, with 3.1 million tons. Vietnam ranked second with roughly 2.2 million tonnes, followed by Taiwan with imports of 594,800 tons of ferrous scrap from Japan.

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Turkey imported around 25 million tons of ferrous scrap in 2021, higher by 11.4% from 2020, mainly driven by hike in imports from Baltic countries. Among them, the largest source was Lithuania, which exported 1.22 million tons of scrap to Turkey. In second place was Venezuela, which supplied 936,200 tons. The imports from short-sea suppliers rose significantly during the previous year.

The total exports of scrap from the U.S. were 17.9 million tons last year, registering a jump by 6% from 2020. The primary export destination for U.S. scrap was Turkey whose imports totalled 3.47 million tons. The other key destinations were Mexico with 3.14 million tons and Vietnam with 1.43 million tons.

Also, Chinese steel scrap imports totalled around 553,000 tons in 2021. Among them, imports from Japan, at roughly 390,000 tonnes, accounted for the largest proportion, followed by South Korea with 96,000 tons.