Recycled steel trade patterns shift in 2024

The 16th edition of the “World Steel Recycling in Figures” handbook, prepared by the Ferrous Division of the Brussels-based Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) and its Statistics Advisor Rolf Willeke, demonstrates several shifts in recycled steel trading patterns in 2024.

Figures gathered by the BIR show there could have been a slight decrease in the consumption of recycled steel last year compared with 2023, or at least in the large nations from which BIR can gather data.

Yet, plenty of shredded, sheared and baled recycled steel crossed international borders last year, with the European Union maintaining its position as the world’s leading recycled steel exporter.

Recycled steel shipments out of the United States declined by 9 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year, falling from 16.26 million metric tons (mmt) in 2023 to about 14.4 mmt last year.

The two largest buyers of exported U.S. recycled steel were Turkey and Mexico. While Turkey increased its purchases from the U.S. by 8.9 percent, reaching nearly 4.43 mmt, buyers in Mexico purchased 33.7 percent less U.S. scrap last year compared with 2023, falling to 2.14 mmt.

The EU stayed on top in 2024, according to BIR, despite an 11.4 percent decrease in ferrous scrap grades exported. While the EU shipped out more than 19 mmt of ferrous scrap in 2023, that figure fell to slightly more than 17 mmt last year.

Turkey remained the largest buyer of the EU’s exported ferrous scrap last year, adding to its EU-origin purchased tonnage. Mills in Turkey increased their purchases of EU ferrous scrap by 1.7 percent in 2024 compared with 2023, bringing in more than 10.9 mmt, according to BIR.

The next largest EU recycled steel importer in 2024 was Egypt, which brought in 1.64 mmt while purchasing 6.9 percent less ferrous scrap from Europe compared with the year before.

The busiest recycled steel shipment ports in Europe in 2024 could be found in the Netherlands, from where some 3.75 mmt of recycled steel were exported. While the Netherlands remained in first place, its shipped volume dropped by 19.1 percent compared with the prior year.

In addition to the EU and the U.S., three other ferrous scrap surplus nations shipped less recycled steel last year compared with 2023.

The BIR figures collected show 2024 recycled steel export declines from Japan (-5.6 percent to less than 6.54 mmt), the United Kingdom (-0.4 percent to nearly 6.26 mmt),and Canada (-4.9 percent to about 4.5 mmt).

With five of the traditional leading recycled steel exporters offering less scrap to the wider global market in 2024, traders and mill buyers became more active in several other places.

Overseas shipments of recycled steel increased by more than 16 percent last year out of Australia, rising to 2.46 mmt. At the same time Mexico was bringing in less ferrous scrap from the U.S., its exports rose by 24.3 percent, checking in at nearly 1.2 mmt.

Also exporting around 1.2 mmt of recycled steel in 2024 was Hong Kong, marking 15.7 year-on-year export growth for the Special Administrative Region of China.