US Fe scrap exports rise in Jan on Turkey

US bulk exports of ferrous scrap increased in January on higher volumes to Turkey and South Korea, and containerized cargoes shifted away from Taiwan, according to US customs data.

• Total US ferrous scrap exports reached 975,000 metric tonnes (t) in January, a 6pc increase from a year earlier.
• Shipments to Turkey rose by a third from a year earlier to 280,000t in January, a month after Turkish mills booked cargoes while scrap prices were at a two-year low.
• South Korea re-entered the US west coast bulk market in January after eight months off, buying two bulk cargoes totaling 62,000t.
• Peru continued buying US bulk scrap in January, when the US exported three cargoes carrying 90,000t in total to the Andean nation.
• Bulk shipments to Bangladesh – the top buyer of bulk scrap on the US west coast – rose by 54pc to 97,000t in January from a year earlier.
• US containerized exports fell by 16pc to 211,000t because of lower volumes to Taiwan and India.
• US containerized ferrous scrap shipments to Taiwan plummeted to 51,000t in January, the lowest volume exported to the island since January 2016.
• January's drop-off in shipments to Taiwan coincided with the lowest Taiwanese imported scrap prices since 2020.
• US west coast container shippers redirected some volume to Vietnam and Thailand, as US exports to those nations increased by 63pc and 49pc, respectively, compared with the previous January.

By James Marshall