Global demand for steel scrap fell by 13.2% in 2009 as the economic and financial crisis caused steel production worldwide to drop by 7.9%, according to a new report hailed as the first of its kind to be published by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR).

The study, entitled 'Steel Scrap - A Raw Material for Steelmaking', also reveals that the European Union metals recycling sector is increasingly reliant on exports of steel scrap to countries such as China, Turkey and India.

As a result, 22.2% more material was sent outside the EU in 2009 than was the case in 2008.

In the document, which the BIR claimed provided a "very accurate" reflection of the market, whereas previous understanding was based on "approximate estimates", the significance of China as a market for steel scrap is emphasised by the claim that 47% of all world steel production is attributable to China.

And, the report noted that steel scrap imports by China reached an "all-time high" in 2009, with an increase of 281.4% from 2008 tonnages to 13.7 mln tons in 2009.

This came alongside India increasing the amount of steel scrap imported by 16.5%, from 4.579 mln tons of scrap in 2008 to 5.336 mln tons in 2009, while Turkey retained its status as "the largest steel scrap importer in the world", despite the tonnage of scrap it imported actually falling by 10.2% between 2008 and 2009 - from 17.415 mln tons to 15.639 mln tons.

European Union: While not providing a nation-specific breakdown for the UK, the report said that, for the European Union as a whole, 15.64 mln tons of scrap was exported in 2008, compared to 12.80 mln tons in 2008 - an increase of 22.2%.

This came as the demand for steel scrap use within the EU fell by 27.3%, to 80.9 mln tons, and the overall amount of crude steel production fell by 29.9% to 139.8 mln tons - significantly higher than the 7.9% fall recorded worldwide.

In place of this, the increased reliance on export saw Turkey remain the largest buyer for EU steel scrap, taking 7.42 mln tons of the 15.64 mln exported - an increase of 7.8% - while India took 2.01 mln tons, 56.9% more than in 2008, and China took 1.62 mln tons - 270.9% more.

Pakistan, Egypt and Switzerland represented the next most significant export markets for the EU's member states.

Prices: The report attributed the growth in exports from the EU to a combination of lower domestic scrap use and the "strong increase" in shipments to China and India, but stresses that, in particular in relation to export prices from the EU and USA, the steel scrap prices "remain volatile".

But, it claimed that, while scrap use fell by a greater percentage in 2009 than overall steel production did, "steel scrap continues to be an extremely important raw material for the steel industry".

"It will also become increasingly important in steelmaking due to the ecological benefits of steel recycling such as the saving of energy and raw materials and the prevention of CO2 emissions," it added.

Following the document's publication last week (July 23), BIR said it aimed to update the data it includes every six months and to print a new edition of the booklet on an annual basis.

Source: Metals News