Nonferrous scrap exports seen weak in September.
US nonferrous…

Nonferrous scrap exports seen weak in September.
US nonferrous scrap metal exports dropped by more than 10,000 short tons in September, posting the worst showing in eight months, according to the latest statistics from the US Department of Commerce.
September’s tonnage was lower than any month this year except January, and also was far below the September 2000 total.
Copper and aluminium scrap exports, the two most heavily traded grades, lost ground, as did lead waste and scrap, nickel scrap and zinc scrap.
China stayed in the copper scrap market, maintaining its position as the biggest foreign customer, but the September tonnage going there was the lowest this year. And Canada, already showing a birdlike appetite compared with last year, took considerably less in September than the prior month. Copper scrap shipments to India in September increased slightly from the previous month, however
China also remained the largest consumer of aluminium scrap from the United States. In fact, the September demand by China exceeded that of August but wasn’t as high as the four previous months. It also appeared that China might be the destination for some of the aluminium scrap previously shipped to Hong Kong as the latter was credited with smaller numbers.
Aluminium scrap demand by North American Free Trade Agreement partners slackened in September, with Canadian demand off by 18% from August and Mexican purchases down 53%.
There was a 20% drop in lead scrap export traffic, according to the Commerce Department, although shipments ran well ahead of its prior year’s pace.
Nickel scrap demand sank for the fourth consecutive month while zinc scrap exports plummeted by 44%, although both commodities maintained year-to-date increases vs. last year.
Compiled after materials on www.metalbulletin.com