According to the Mineral Industry Survey released by the US Geological Survey (USGS), stocks of imported and domestic scrap in the US at the end of March this year amounted to 3.56 million mt, increasing slightly by 1.7 percent from the end of February and down 5.1 percent year on year. Total consumption of iron and steel scrap in the US amounted to 4.5 million mt in March, increasing 3.7 percent over February this year and down 9.35 percent compared to March 2012.
In the first quarter of the year, exports of iron and steel scrap from the US amounted to 5.4 million mt, falling slightly by 0.7 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012. The value of these exports was $2.26 billion, decreasing 10 percent compared to the first quarter of 2012. Turkey was the leading country of destination, with 1.64 million mt, accounting for 30 percent of total export tonnages, followed by Taiwan with 804,000 mt, South Korea with 635,000 mt and China with 547,000 mt.
US imports of iron and steel scrap in the first quarter amounted to 859,000 mt, decreasing by 28 percent year on year. The value of these imports was $364 million, down 33 percent from the same quarter of the previous year. Canada was the leading country of origin, exporting 681,000 mt of iron and steel scrap to the US in the first quarter of the year.
