2019 Recycling Industry Yearbook

ISRI.ORG 21 on steel imports from Turkey and other countries were widely viewed as supporting domestic steel producers, and, by extension, domestic ferrous scrap demand. EXPORT MARKET The United States is the world’s leading ferrous scrap exporting country, selling to buyers in 75 countries around the world. Ferrous scrap exports increased nearly 14% by volume from 2017 to 2018, to 15.7 million mt, even though shipments to the No.1 ferrous export destination, Turkey, declined 5.6%. Turkish steel production fell in 2018 after the United States imposed higher tariffs on imported Turkish steel, which likely contributed to its drop in demand for U.S. ferrous scrap. By value, ferrous scrap exports in 2018 totaled $5.3 billion, up 29% from 2017. The biggest export markets for U.S. scrap in 2018 were Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, Vietnam, and South Korea, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission. TOP U.S. FERROUS SCRAP EXPORT MARKETS 0 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 14,000,000 16,000,000 18,000,000 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 metric tons Rest of World Thailand Canada Egypt India Bangladesh South Korea Vietnam Mexico Taiwan Turkey Source: U.S. Census Bureau/U.S. International Trade Commission