The value of metal scrap imported to Mexico broke the negative trend of the last three months and in January increased 38.6 percent, year-over-year, to $114 million, the highest amount in the last eight months, according to a SteelOrbis analysis of data from the national statistics agency Inegi.
The consumption of scrap, local or imported, is related to steel production in Mexico. In at least the last 14 months (from December 2022 to January 2024) production decreased. In that period, the average monthly decrease was 10.7 percent.
The importance of scrap imported to Mexico is such that its value far exceeds several imported steel products. For example, it exceeds rolled stainless steel products with a width greater than 600 mm by 49 percent; 57 percent to the value of bars and profiles of other alloy steels; 362 percent to iron or steel profiles; 545 percent to hot forged iron bars; 775 percent to unplated flat rolled products.
Even in January it represented a third (33.3 percent) of the total import of all imports of intermediate iron or non-alloy steel products or 7.0 percent of the total value of imports from the steel industry.
For its part, scrap exports from the Mexican market registered its seventh consecutive annual increase in January with 68.1 percent, year-over-year, to $42 million. The historical export record was in May 2008 with $62 million.