On November 9, Assofermet, the association representing Italian distributors of scrap, raw materials, and steel products, held a conference in Rimini regarding Italy's first research study on metal recovery and recycling. The project was realized with the partnership of Cerved.
The aim of the study was "to demonstrate the importance of the sector represented by Assofermet. Scrap metal recovery activities are essential both in terms of their contribution to GDP and the social impact that these companies have in our sector, where more than 19,000 people are employed," said Laila Matta, president of Assofermet Scrap, adding, "80 percent of national steel production comes precisely from the recycling of ferrous scrap."
The study showed that the sector in Italy is especially prosperous: the limited companies operating in the sector recorded a turnover increase of more than 64 percent between 2019 and 2021. In the same period, EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) and the number of employees were also on the rise.
Specifically, it was found that the scrap recovery and wrecker sector in Italy counts 7,457 companies, 65.9 percent of which operate in the wholesale scrap trade, 20 percent have scrap and scrap metal recovery as their main activity, and 14.1 percent of the total are car wreckers.
41 percent of the companies analyzed are limited companies, whose active turnover (according to the latest available data, which date back to 2021) exceeds €16.92 billion. Of these, more than €9 billion come from companies trading wholesale scrap.
The 2021 financial statements show an overall growth of 64.5 percent compared to 2019, while registered and forecast financial statements for 2022 show a slight decrease compared to the previous year (equal to €16.8 billion), still up from 2019. The financial statements foreseen for 2023 amount to €18 billion.
In the same period, EBITDA increased sharply as well, rising from around €400 million in 2019 to €1.2 billion in 2021. The forecast is stable for 2022 and 2023.
As for partnerships and sole proprietorships, which account for 59 percent of the total number of businesses analyzed (4,387 companies), the estimated turnover equals to €896.3 million, i.e., five percent of the turnover recorded for limited companies.
Finally, businesses whose secondary activity is scrap trading had a total turnover of nearly €7 billion in 2021.
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE: The study was conducted by Cerved Group S.p.A. through the analysis of publicly available data. The analysis includes all Italian companies with one of the following Ateco codes as their primary code: 38.31.10 (Demolition of carcasses, i.e., dismantling of carcasses of all types, including automobiles, computers, televisions and other material recovery equipment), 38.32.10 (Recovery and preparation for recycling of metal waste and scrap), 46.77.10 (Wholesale trade of scrap and by-products of industrial metal processing). As for partnerships and sole proprietorships, the turnover was estimated on the basis of the turnover classes defined by Cerved Group S.p.A. according to the number of employees and sector they belong to, using the average class figure as a reference. When we talk about companies with "scrap trade as a secondary activity" we are referring to businesses with the secondary Ateco code 46.77.10 ((Wholesale trade of scrap and by-products of industrial metal processing) and with the primary Ateco code other than 38.31.10 (Demolition of carcasses), 38.32.10 (Recovery and preparation for recycling of metal waste and scrap), or 46.77.10 (Wholesale trade of scrap and by-products of industrial metal processing).