SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The most recent trade statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that exports of aluminum scrap recorded sharp decline during the initial eight months of 2020. The total exports were valued at $1.31 billion during this period, down by 14.96% when matched with the exports of $1.54 billion million during the similar eight-month period in 2019.

The primary importer of aluminum scrap from the U.S. was Malaysia. The value of exports to that country totalled $250.23 million, accounting for nearly 19% of the total U.S. exports. The Malaysian imports from the U.S. surged higher significantly by nearly 54% over the previous year. In second place was South Korea, whose imports from the U.S. were valued at $233.13 million. The third largest export destination was India, importing $199.19 million worth of aluminium scrap from the U.S.  The other key importers were China ($131.66 million) and Canada ($72.15 million).        

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The U.S. imported $401.6 million worth of aluminum scrap during Jan-Aug ‘20. This compares with $554.55 million during the corresponding year-ago period, thereby implying a year-on-year decline of approximately 28%. The top three sources of import were Canada ($258.15 million), Mexico ($113.71 million) and Brazil ($5.61 million).