July Ferrous Scrap Exports Down Across the Board

July ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,203,282 metric tons (1,326,390 net tons) with Turkey, Taiwan, China, Mexico, and Canada being the top five importing countries of U.S. scrap. Of the higher ranking countries in the table below, there was month-over-month increase in exports going to Turkey, China, Mexico, Canada, and Indonesia over the June figures, but a decrease in scrap exports going to all of the other countries listed. Compared to the same month last year, ferrous scrap exports are down for all of the major countries ranging from 9.8 to 88.4 percent.

Total July ferrous scrap exports were 14.4 percent lower than previous month and 37.9 percent lower than the same month one year ago. This decrease over the previous month is primarily attributed to the exports going to Taiwan, Korea, Egypt, and Vietnam, although we should point out that there was a sharp increase in shipments going to China and Mexico. Compared to the same month one year ago, the large decrease in exports is due to Turkey, Taiwan, China, Korea, and India receiving significantly less material.