According to the statistics released by the US International Trade Commission (US ITC), in 2009 US scrap exports amounted to 22.44 million metric tons, rising by 3.35 percent year on year.
In 2009, China increased its scrap imports from the US by 120 percent to 6.21 million metric tons, while Turkey's scrap imports from the same source declined by 18 percent to 3.68 million metric tons. In the year in question, US scrap exports to South Korea rose 18 percent to 3.11 million metric tons, its scrap exports to Taiwan amounted to 2.23 million metric tons, down 14 percent, while its scrap exports to Canada totaled 977,000 metric tons - down 42 percent, all compared to 2008.
In 2009, the average export price of US scrap stood at $318/mt, decreasing by 34.11 percent compared to 2008 levels.
On the other hand, in December 2009 US ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,906,000 metric tons, increasing by 9.63 percent month on month and up 30.63 percent compared to December 2008.
In December, Turkey ranked first among the top scrap importers from the US with its scrap imports reaching 436,874 metric tons, up 94 percent month on month but down 19 percent year on year, while China came second, importing 376,758 metric tons, which is 26 percent lower as compared to November 2009 and up eight percent year on year. South Korea, Taiwan and Canada followed Turkey with scrap imports totaling 272,723 mt, 199,439 mt and 93,909 mt respectively.