US ferrous scrap exports rise 7.4% in August

US ferrous scrap exports rose by 7.4% in August despite a sharp drop in demand from China and Turkey.

Demand from Turkey, the biggest consumer, fell to 507,797 tonnes, according to the latest Commerce Department data, down 16.7% from 609,343 tonnes in July and 36.5% lower than 799,897 tonnes in August last year.

Buyers in China (including Hong Kong) took 96,596 tonnes of US ferrous scrap in August, down 56.6% from 222,559 tonnes the previous month and 79.6% below 472,359 tonnes a year earlier.

Japan also registered a decline to 3,142 tonnes, down 25.5% from July and 59.6% lower than August last year, but other Asian buyers more than took up the slack.

South Korea’s intake totaled 256,102 tonnes in August, up 68% from 152,416 tonnes in July but down 24.2% from 338,018 tonnes in August 2011; Taiwan took 396,484 tonnes, up 11.9% from 354,349 tonnes in July and 0.6% higher than a year earlier.

India’s 183,589-tonne intake in August was up 72.4% from 106,501 tonnes the previous month but down 3.8% from August 201.

Malaysia’s purchases more than doubled to 143,433 tonnes from 59,452 tonnes in July and more than tripled to 45,399 tonnes in August last year.

Mexico’s intake of 70,247 tonnes was down 47.5% from 133,768 tonnes in July but up 32.6% from a year earlier, while Canadian purchases of 114,973 tonnes were up 37.6% from 83,580 tonnes in July but down 10.6% from August 2011.

Egypt took 36,501 tonnes in August compared with just 523 tonnes the previous month.

US ferrous scrap exports totaled more than 2.08 million tonnes in August—the second-highest total so far this year, topped only by nearly 2.15 million tonnes in March—up from less than 1.94 million tonnes the previous month but down 25.1% from almost 2.78 million tonnes in August 2011.

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