Exports of Precious Metal Scrap by the U.S. Soared 44%

Seattle-Washington (Apr 13)  The U.S. exports of scrap of precious metals reported significant surge during the initial two-month period of 2018. The latest trade data published by the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that the exports soared by 44% over the previous year. The U.S. exports increased from $551.03 million in Jan-Feb ’17 to $792.32 million during the opening two months of 2018. It must be noted that the country’s exports were valued at $3.72 billion during the last full year.

During Jan-Feb ’18, Germany emerged as the largest export market for U.S. scrap of precious metals. The shipments to Germany totaled $276.28 million, accounting for nearly 35% of all U.S shipments. Germany received 515% more of the material when matched with the previous year. The exports to the UK too increased by 106% to $177.24 million. In third place was Canada with $135.85 million worth of imports from the U.S. The other major export destinations were Italy ($85.68 million) and Japan ($57.45 million).

ALSO READ: U.S. Plastic Scrap Exports Plunged 40% Amidst Chinese Curbs

Meantime, the imports of scrap of precious metals through February 2018 have increased considerably by 23% year-on-year. The imports during the first two months totaled $281.67 million, as against the imports of $229.11 million recorded during the corresponding two-month period in 2017.

The top five sources of import were Germany, Canada, Singapore, the UK and China. The imports from these foreign markets totaled $190.09 million and accounted for nearly 68% of all U.S. imports. The imports of scrap of precious metals from Germany were valued at $67.24 million. Nearly 24% of all U.S. imports came from Germany. The other major suppliers during the opening two months of 2018 were Canada ($58.44 million), Singapore ($28.99 million), the UK ($20.07 million) and China ($15.35 million).

ScraptRegister