US ferrous scrap exporters shipped 1mn metric tonnes (t) abroad in July, a 6pc uptick from the same month a year earlier as volumes to Turkey and Mexico increased.
Export volumes rose by 4pc year-to-date July from a year earlier, due partially to a boost in US scrap supply, according to the latest US Census Bureau trade data. July's export volume represents the fourth month with over 1mn t year-to-date as of July, up from a single month in the same period of 2025.
US ferrous scrap shipments to Turkey increased by 12pc to 296,000t in July compared with the same month a year earlier. Bulk HMS 1/2 80:20 cfr Turkey averaged $371/t in July, up from $346/t a year earlier, indicating firmer demand for scrap at Turkey's scrap-fed electric arc furnace steel mills this year.
US bulk ferrous scrap exports ticked up by 6pc overall in July from the prior year period to 629,000t because of a bump in seaborne shipments to Mexico. US bulk exports to Mexico increased to 104,000t in July, up from 34,000t a year earlier.
Total ferrous scrap exports to Mexico rose by 83pc to 166,000t in July from the same month a year early. US export volumes to Mexico have rebounded this year after US tariffs on steel imports put in place last year suppressed demand for ferrous scrap in Mexico in 2025. This year's US export volumes have rebounded to narrowly surpass 2024 levels on a year-to-date July basis.
Containerized scrap exports were steady at 257,000t in July, down by 1pc from a year earlier. Taiwan remained the top destination of US containerized scrap at 83,000t in July, down by 13pc from July 2025.
Containerized volumes to Thailand increased by 73pc to 53,000t in July from the same month a year earlier, while the US shipped 45,000t of ferrous scrap in containers in July, a 16pc increase from a year earlier.
| US ferrous scrap exports | t | ||||
| Mode | July 2026 | July 2025 | ± | ±% | June 2026 |
| Bulk | |||||
| Turkey | 295,499 | 263,929 | 31,570 | 12 | 299,996 |
| Mexico | 104,090 | 34,000 | 70,090 | 206 | 62,200 |
| Bangladesh | 77,399 | 157,816 | -80,417 | -51 | 41,802 |
| Peru | 63,723 | 78,896 | -15,173 | -19 | 75,978 |
| Total (bulk) | 629,012 | 591,856 | 37,156 | 6 | 692,363 |
| Containerized | |||||
| Taiwan | 82,873 | 94,889 | -12,016 | -13 | 72,628 |
| Thailand | 52,537 | 30,350 | 22,187 | 73 | 55,585 |
| Vietnam | 45,373 | 39,067 | 6,306 | 16 | 46,203 |
| India | 24,391 | 46,307 | -21,916 | -47 | 21,981 |
| Total (containerized) | 257,210 | 261,093 | -3,883 | -1 | 250,059 |
| Mode of transit | |||||
| Seaborne bulk | 629,012 | 591,856 | 37,156 | 6 | 692,363 |
| Seaborne containerized | 257,210 | 261,093 | -3,883 | -1 | 250,059 |
| Land | 116,230 | 84,198 | 32,032 | 38 | 280,615 |
| Total (all modes) | 1,002,452 | 937,147 | 65,305 | 7 | 1,223,037 |
| — US Department of Commerce | |||||
