Scrap metal sales by large collection and processing yards decreased 27.9 percent in June, year-over-year, the 13th consecutive annual decline, according to SteelOrbis' analysis of data from national statistics agency Inegi. That many months in contraction marks the second worst month for scrap metal sales in the last 15 years.
June 2023 is the most severe decrease in the last 13 years, only surpassed by the 43.1 percent drop in 2009, the year of the global economic crisis.
In the January-June period, the sale of scrap in the Mexican steel market decreased 29.4 percent, the largest decline since 2010.
Inegi data is based on 2018. With this information, the June data is 11.2 percent lower than the base year and the accumulated data is 4.5 percent below.
The information from Inegi corresponds to the trade with wholesale sales of waste materials, which includes the sale of metal scrap, glass, plastic, paper and cardboard, among other reusable waste. The 27.9 percent drop in sales corresponds to total activities. Of this total, metal scrap concentrated 68.4 percent of the industry's total sales.
The sale of scrap is of vital importance for the Mexican and global steel market. According to the steel company Gerdau Corsa, 93 percent of the steel produced in Mexico is made from scrap.