The U.S. aluminium industry purchased 763 million pounds of aluminium scrap in March 2016

The U.S. aluminium industry purchased an estimated 763 million pounds of aluminium scrap during March 2016, according to aluminium recycling statistics published by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Interior, up 4.7 per cent over the March 2015 total of 728 million. USGS estimates that recovery of aluminium and aluminium alloys totalled 664 million pounds, an increase of 4.3 per cent year-over-year.

Through the first three months of 2016, preliminary data indicate that recovery of aluminium from scrap totalled an estimated 1,966 million pounds, up 2.0 per cent from the 2015 YTD total of 1,927 million. U.S. exports of scrap, not included in the government’s consumption statistics, totalled 671 million pounds YTD, down 6.5 per cent from the same period in 2015.

Aluminium imports of ingot, scrap and mill products into the U.S. and Canada (excluding cross-border trade) totaled 695 million pounds in April 2016, up 14.5 percent over the April 2015 total of 607 million pounds. Including scrap, which accounted for roughly 46 percent of reported aluminium exports in April, exports totaled 490 million pounds, down 6.0 percent from a year ago. Excluding scrap, exports totaled 267 million pounds, up 15.7 percent over last year. Exports of scrap decreased 23.3 percent year-over-year. Through the first four months of 2016, total imports were up 10.1 percent to 2,486 million pounds while exports were down seven-tenths of one percent to 1,923 million pounds.