Dec 13 (LTIT) – The latest U.S. Census Bureau data suggests notable jump in aluminum scrap exports by the country during Jan-Oct ’18. The exports totaled $2.02 billion during this period, significantly higher by 11.72% when matched with the corresponding period in 2017. The Jan-Oct ’17 exports of aluminum scrap by the country had totaled only $1.81 billion.

The top trade partner through October this year was China. However, the exports to that country dropped sharply by more than one-third over the previous year, mainly due to strict import controls imposed by the Chinese administration. The U.S. exported $619.08 million worth of scrap to China, still accounting for nearly 31% of all U.S. shipments. In second place was South Korea, who imported $280.63 million worth of materials from the U.S. The other key importers were India ($229.81 million), Mexico ($177.83 million) and Canada ($173.06 million).

The combined exports to the above top five foreign markets accounted for over 73% of the total U.S. exports of aluminum waste and scrap.

Meantime, the U.S. imports of aluminum scrap too recorded 10.73% improvement over the previous year. The imports surged higher from $847.23 million to $938.17 million. The primary import sources were Canada ($547.53 million), Mexico ($256.62 million), Guatemala ($18.34 million), Venezuela ($9.13 million) and Brazil ($8.44 million). Nearly 90% of all imports were from the above five countries, U.S. Census Bureau data said.