USA: Ferrous scrap exports drop by 6% m-o-m in Mar'22

USA, world's largest ferrous scrap supplier, witnessed a drop of 6%, m-o-m, to 1.27 million tonnes (mnt) in March 2022 as against 1.35 mnt in February, as per customs data compiled by SteelMint.

On a y-o-y basis, too, US export volumes of ferrous scrap decreased by 20% compared with 1.59 mnt in March 2021.

Country-wise exports:

• Shipments to Mexico jump: Exports to Mexico surged almost 46% to 0.32 mnt in March as against 0.22 mnt a month ago, as per statistical data of SteelMint. The country surpassed Turkey and Bangladesh and became the largest importer of ferrous scrap.
  
  

Notably, Mexico imported the highest volume of ferrous scrap after seven months.

• Exports to Turkey down on limited demand: Exports to Turkey, the largest buyer of seaborne scrap, stood at 0.29 mnt in April as against 0.37 mnt in the previous month. Turkey's construction industry demand lagged behind due to skyrocketing inflation which, in turn, is leading to lower demand for imported scrap in the country for deliveries.
  
  
• Exports to Bangladesh fall drastically: Bangladesh, the major importer of bulk scrap in South Asia, recorded 0.09 mnt in March compared to 0.19 mnt last month. Mills shifted interest to other origins like EU and Australia amidst price competitiveness.
  
  

Ferrous scrap prices fall in February: SteelMint's assessment of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $502/t CFR Turkey in February from $465/t CFR in January.

Outlook:

Market participants expect that due to festive holidays of Ramadan, many markets like Turkey and Bangladesh may slow down bookings, thus, export shipments from USA may also decrease.