Ferrous scrap exports from the United States (US) saw a marginal increase of 1% m-o-m to 1.61 million tonnes (mn t) in Apr’21 as against 1.59 mn t seen in Mar’21, as per customs data compiled by SteelMint. However, on a y-o-y basis, exports increased by nearly 38% compared to 1.17 mn tin Apr’20.
Mexico was the largest recipient of US scrap at 0.25 mn t in Apr’21 followed by Malaysia and Turkey at 0.23 mn t and 0.21 mn t respectively.
Market highlights-
Fall in Turkey’s imports: Turkey, a major buyer of the US’ ferrous scrap, imported 0.21 mn t in Apr’21 compared to 0.46 mn t in the preceding month, a whopping 54% m-o-m drop. Steel mills continued to hold back imports due to high freight rates, leaving buyers reluctant to make bookings.
Lower crude steel output: The United States produced 6.9 mn t of crude steel in Apr’21, slightly down by 3% m-o-m, as per the World Steel Association (WSA). Increased finished steel prices resulted in low exports, especially to end-users.
Scrap prices up in Mar: SteelMint’s assessment of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $439/tonne (t) CFR Turkey in Mar’21, up by 5% from $418/t CFR Turkey in Feb’21. Increased prices kept buyers on the sidelines.
Outlook
Market sentiments remained negative with prices bottoming-out in May’21 with the start of the Ramadan festival. The current situation in the US market seems to be worsening from the buyers’ point of view. In addition to supply shortage, importers are now dealing with shipping challenges, especially in terms of obtaining containers and serious local port congestions, which may put a damper on exports from the US.
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