US ferrous scrap exports rose in February, driven by substantially larger volumes to Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Mexico.
Total exports increased by 24pc in February to 1.32mn from 1.07mn mt a year ago, according to US Census Bureau data. Year-to-date totals for ferrous scrap exports rose by 46pc to 2.81mn mt from 1.93mn mt during the prior year period.
Exports to Malaysia rose by 209pc to 142,889mt in February from 46,211mt during the same month in 2019. Year-to-date exports to the country surged by 392pc to 508,793mt from 103,341mt during the first two months of 2019.
US ferrous exports to Bangladesh reached 121,951mt in February 2020, rising substantially by 213pc from 38,993mt during the same month last year. Through the first two months of 2020, US exports to Bangladesh hit 187,828mt, increasing by 138pc from 78,988mt during the same two-month period in 2019.
Exports to Mexico also increased by 84pc in February to 156,939mt from 85,481mt a year ago. Through the first two months of 2020, exports to Mexico rose by 52pc to 287,327mt from 188,671mt during the same period in 2019.
Ferrous exports to Turkey declined by 26 pc in February 2020 to 221,113mt from 297,900mt during the prior year period. However, through the first two months of 2020, US ferrous exports to Turkey reached 564,297mt, rising by 24pc from 453,345mt during the same two-month period last year.
East Coast
US East Coast ferrous scrap exports hit 512,098mt in February, declining by 22pc from the 656,862mt exported last month. Exports to Malaysia from the East Coast reached 68,043mt in February, declining from 141,398mt a month earlier. East Coast ferrous exports to Turkey fell from 343,184mt in January to 221,114mt in February. Taiwan received 11,217mt of East Coast exports in February.
West Coast
West Coast ferrous scrap exports totaled 437,646mt in February, declining from 493,378mt one month earlier. Shipments to Malaysia in February declined to 74,856mt from 223,966mt in January. West Coast ferrous scrap exports to Taiwan in February declined to 101,903 from 114,875mt in January.
North America
Ferrous scrap shipmens from the US to North American countries totaled 212,504mt in February, increasing by 14.38pc from 185,786mt last month. Exports to Mexico rose 20.6pc to 156,939mt in February from 130,388mt in January. US ferrous scrap exports to Canada increased by 0.37pc to 55,565mt in February from 55,398mt the month before.