US scrap exports decline for third consecutive year 

A third consecutive year of decline for global steel scrap exports from the United States coincided with reduced prices, data for 2024 has revealed.

Shredded scrap prices peaked in January at USD452 per tonne and ended the year at their lowest point, down 18.1% at USD370 per tonne. US steel production declined by 2.4% last year (to 79.5m tonnes) but, with approximately 70% of US steel production now coming from electric arc furnaces (EAFs), scrap consumption rose by 1.6%, according to US Census Bureau data aggregated by the US Geological Survey (USGS). 

One factor contributing to the downward pressure on scrap prices was reduced demand for exports. The United States remains the largest steel scrap exporter in the world. In 2024, it exported 14.9 million tonnes of material, followed by the United Kingdom (6.9m) and Japan (6.5m).  

Despite strong gains in exports to Turkey in 2023 and 2024, however, US scrap exports have declined annually over the past three years. In 2024, US scrap exports fell by 8.4% year-on-year, following declines of 7.9% in 2023 and 1.2% in 2022. 

US scrap exports may have peaked at 17.9m tonnes in 2021. The addition of significant EAF capacity has increased the potential for domestic consumption in recent years, with more planned. From 2023 to 2027, MEPS International estimates that nearly 10m tonnes of new EAF capacity will be commissioned in North America. While some of this capacity can utilise DRI or pig iron, the majority will rely on scrap as its primary input.  

“In the longer term, the introduction of new US steelmaking capacity may reduce exports and lift scrap prices,” says Laura Hodges, US steel analyst at MEPS International. “However, in the near term, the overcapacity issues that currently plague global steel markets will apply downward pressure to US scrap exports and prices.” 

• Regular insight into global scrap markets is featured in MEPS International’s Ferrous Scrap Review. The monthly publication provides prices and market commentary from the United States, EU and nine other industrialised and developing economies.

Turkey was the largest importer of US steel scrap in 2024, US Department of Commerce data shows. Over 4.4m tonnes of material was exported to the country last year. Over the last decade, Turkey has typically imported between 3.5 and 4m tonnes of US scrap annually. However, Turkey lost approximately 1.5 million tonnes of annual supply with the introduction of new Russian scrap export controls in 2022. Turkey imports over 20 million tonnes of scrap each year, with the US being its largest supplier, representing over 23% of total imports. 

Demand for US scrap from buyers in Bangladesh has also risen steadily over the past decade, making it the third-largest importer in 2024. According to BigMint, Bangladesh’s annual steelmaking capacity now exceeds nine million tonnes, much of which has been added in recent years and relies on scrap as the primary input. 

Meanwhile, Mexican imports of US scrap have declined significantly over the past two years. Mexico is the second-largest destination for US scrap, but declining steel production in 2023 and 2024 has reduced demand. According to worldsteel, Mexico produced 13.7m tonnes of steel in 2024, down from a recent peak of 18.5m tonnes in 2021. The closure of Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) in November 2023 – the result of financial difficulties – has eliminated four million tonnes of domestic steelmaking capacity. 

Another country that that has been importing significantly less US scrap is South Korea. Exports to South Korea peaked at just over one million tonnes in 2019. Five years later, in 2024, that figure was just 134,000 tonnes.