UK ferrous scrap exports down marginally in September

UK ferrous exports fell marginally on the year in September on mixed shipments to the country's key overseas markets.

The UK exported 682,711t of ferrous scrap in September, a 0.9pc decline from 689,040t in the same month last year, official trade data shows.

Total UK exports in the first nine months of the year fell by 7pc from 2018 to 6.08mn t, with scrap exports in the third quarter down by 12pc to 1.95mn t.

Exports to the UK's overseas markets were mixed in September. Shipments to some established markets declined on the year but there was an increase in deliveries to several emerging markets.

Exports to Turkey — the world's largest scrap importer — fell by 14.9pc on the year in September to 186,161t. The decrease was in line with a wider fall in UK shipments to Turkey in 2019. Total shipments to Turkey in January-September fell by 25.3pc to 1.59mn t.

UK ferrous scrap exports to Spain fell by almost a quarter in September, down by 23.5pc on the year to 42,922t. From January to September, exports were down by 5.1pc year on year to 587,687t.

Egypt was a major growth market for the UK in 2018, and exports to the country rose sharply by 132.8pc year on year in September to 133,300t.

The rate of scrap exports to Egypt lagged last year's levels in the first seven months of the year, falling by 25.2pc to 387,572t. But a sharp uptick of exports in August and September meant that exports to Egypt have now declined by 1.6pc on the year to 648,053 in the first nine months.

Exports to Indonesia dropped by 28.8pc in September to 35,408t. But exports for the first nine months of 2019 rose by 14pc on the year to 257,319t.

UK scrap exports to Bangladesh climbed by 56.3pc in September to 73,028t, continuing the significant upturn in shipments to the country this year. Overall UK exports to Bangladesh moved up by 85.3pc on the year to 614,187t during the first nine months, as the country continued to be an attractive destination for both bulk and container shipments.

Sales to India from the UK fell to decade-low rates in 2018. But in the first nine months of 2019 UK scrap exports to the country increased by 45pc on the year to 634,286t.

Despite that overall increase, exports to India in September fell by 66.5pc on the year to 27,817. Exports were also down in August, but there were year-on-year increases in the first seven months.

UK scrap exports to Pakistan rose on the year in September by 26.2pc to 82,722t. But January-September exports were down by 12pc to 708,063t.

Exports to the US were down by 62pc on the year in January-September to 92,673t. In September, US-bound exports rose to 43,871t — up from just 20t exported in the same month last year. Typically, the US only imports large quantities of specific grades that are cheaper to import from Europe than to source domestically.

A sharp fall in global ferrous scrap prices in September negatively impacted the profitability of UK scrap shipments during the month. As a result, global recycling group Sims Metal Management said in October that it will report a loss for the first half of its fiscal year — July to June — as a result of the fall in prices.

The UK's top 10 export destinations for ferrous scrap t