US ferrous scrap export volumes dipped slightly year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013 on low demand from Asian consumers.
First-quarter exports totalled 5.38 million tonnes, down 0.8% from nearly 5.43 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. Exporters shipped 1.96 million tonnes in March, down 8.6% from nearly 2.15 million tonnes in the same month last year due to significant declines in export sales to China (down 41.1% from March 2012 to 178,720 tonnes).