Iron and steel scrap: exports from the U.S. 2006-2022
Scrap use in the U.S. market
Over 46 million metric tons of iron and steel scraps have been consumed on the U.S. market in 2021. The majority of scrap consumption in the domestic industry can be attributed to manufacturers of pig iron, raw steel, and steel castings. The 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
Recycled iron and steel 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 recycling on 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.