Turkey remains world’s largest scrap importer in 2012

According to the "World Steel Recycling in Figures 2008-2012" report released by The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the world's total external steel scrap trade reached 106.6 milllion mt in 2012, decreasing by 1.9 percent from 2011, of which nearly 28 percent was attributable to inter-EU trade.
 
The report shows that Turkey's position as the world's foremost importer of steel scrap was reinforced in 2012, with Turkey's overseas purchases of steel scrap climbing by around 4.5 percent year on year in the given year to 22.4 million mt.
 
South Korea was another country which increased its scrap imports in 2012 with a year-on-year rise of 17.4 percent to 10.1 million mt, while India's scrap imports rose 32.4 percent in 2012 to 8.2 million mt, compared to 2011. Steel scrap imports into Canada in 2012 amounted to 2.3 milion mt, rising 22.6 percent over 2011. However, China recorded a strong year-on-year drop of 26.5 percent in overseas steel scrap purchases last year, importing 4.97 milllion mt, while declines in scrap imports were also registered in Taiwan (down seven percent to 4.95 million mt), in the US (down 7.2 percent to 3.7 million mt) and in the EU-27 (down 8.1 percent to 3.4 million mt).
 
In 2012, there was a year-on-year decline of around 12.2 percent in US steel scrap exports to 21.4 million mt from the high figure recorded in 2011. But in spite of this drop, the US remained the world's leading exporter of steel scrap, while the biggest buyer of its scrap was Turkey with a 13.8 percent rise to 6.4 million mt in 2012. BIR also highlighted a steep decline of 54 percent in US shipments to China (1.95 million mt) as well as a drop in Canada's overall steel scrap exports of around 12.1 percent to 4.25 million mt, both compared to the previous year.
 
According to BIR's report, whereas EU steel mills reduced their steel scrap usage, the region's exports jumped 2.1 percent to 19.2 million mt in 2012, with Turkey maintaining its position as the biggest buyer of EU steel scrap with 11 million mt, up 10.9 percent over 2011. BIR noted that, in 2012 Turkey was the biggest buyer of steel scrap for all the main scrap exporting countries of the EU-27. Meanwhile, after a difficult 2011, Japan's steel scrap export volumes jumped 57.9 percent year on year to 8.5 milllion mt last year, with shipments to South Korea soaring 69.9 percent year on year to 4.9 million mt. BIR noted that Japan's exports were positively influenced in 2012 by favourable short shipping routes.