US consumption of aluminium scrap down 4.8 per cent YoY in H1 2018; scrap exports up 12.2 per cent for the same period

According to the latest aluminium recycling statistics published by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of Interior;  the U.S. aluminium industry consumed an estimated 323,865 tonnes of aluminium scrap during June 2018, down about 4 per cent from the June 2017 total of 337,019 tonnes. The volume also drops slightly month on month. USGS estimates that recovery of aluminium and aluminium alloys totalled 298,464 tonnes in June, almost flat year over year and month on month.  

Through the first half of 2018, preliminary data indicate that the U.S. aluminium industry consumed an estimated 1.96 million tonnes of scrap, down 4.8 per cent from 2 million tonnes in the same period of 2017. Recovery of aluminium from scrap totalled an estimated 1.8 million tonnes, off 2.6 per cent from year-to-date volume of 2017. Out of that, new scrap contributed 1 million tonnes and old scrap contributed about 800,000 tonnes.

U.S. exports of scrap, not included in the government’s consumption statistics, totalled 826,899 million tonnes year-to-date, up 12.2 per cent over 736,634 tonnes in 2017. Scrap export in June was up almost 15% YoY to 144,696 tonnes.