Iron and steel scrap exports from the U.S. 2010-2023
Exports of iron and steel scrap from the United States amounted to 18 million metric tons in 2023, a decrease of 10 percent compared to the previous year.
Scrap use in the U.S. market
An estimated 50 million metric tons of iron and steel scraps were consumed in the U.S. in 2023. The majority of scrap consumption in the domestic industry can be attributed to manufacturers of pig iron, raw steel, and steel castings. Manufacturers use scrap in combination with pig iron and direct-reduced iron to produce steel products for a wide range of applications, including appliances, construction, machinery, and oil and gas.
Scrap recycling
Iron and steel recycled from scrap are often used as raw materials for the production of new steel and cast iron. In 2021, around 4.2 million metric tons of scraps were produced from home scrap in the domestic market. As many facilities have been designed to use scrap material, the dependency on the recycling of these products is high. Recycling of this scrap material has ranged between 80 and 90 percent over the last decade, with automobiles as the largest source.
