Scrap metal imports in the EU fell by 17 percent

Scrap metal imports to the EU-28 countries fell sharply during the first quarter of this year, according to the latest EU statistics. According to trade data, imports of ferrous scrap into the EU-28 region during this period amounted to 648,429 tons. Scrap metal imports decreased by 17.1 percent compared to the corresponding three-month period last year.

The largest source of imports of ferrous scrap in the first quarter of 2015 for the EU-28 region was Russia. Scrap imports from Russia reached 233,744 tonnes, accounting for almost 36 percent of the total scrap imports to the EU-28 during this period. At the same time, the import of scrap metal from Russia decreased by 13.8 percent compared to the previous year.

Switzerland took the second place in terms of the volume of supplies of scrap metal with 131,355 tons. Imports of steel scrap from Switzerland fell by almost 18 percent compared to imports during the first quarter of 2014. The third largest supplier of ferrous scrap to the EU-28 region was Norway with 87,231 tons. Imports from Norway declined marginally, by 3.6 percent, over the three months. The listed sources of scrap metal provided supplies of almost 70 percent of the total imports of the EU 28 countries. Other significant sources of imports in the EU-28 were: Turkey with 22,295 tons, down 35.8 percent, the United States with 21,800 tons, down 50.4 percent and Canada 18,049 tons, up 224.6 percent on an annualized basis.

Scrap metal imports to the EU-28 region during March 2015 amounted to 259,255 tons. This is significantly higher compared to the 185,884 tonnes of imports received during the previous month. Russia was the largest exporter of scrap metal for the month with 109,574 tons. Norway came in second (48,868 tons), followed by Switzerland (46,716 tons). Other major suppliers of scrap metal during the month were Turkey (8,417 tons), Morocco (6,650 tons) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (5,636 tons).