According to the recently released Steel Scrap Statistics Yearbook by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the total steel scrap consumption of the six major countries, including China, the European Union (EU-27), the United States, Japan, Turkey, and South Korea, amounted to 432.36 million tons last year, a decrease of 1.9% compared to the previous year.
After a sharp increase of 6.4% from 443.16 million tons in 2020 to 471.32 million tons in 2021, the steel scrap consumption of these six countries declined for the second consecutive year, following a decrease to 440.58 million tons in 2022.
The decrease in steel scrap consumption in major countries is attributed to the decline in crude steel production. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), crude steel production in these six countries last year amounted to 1,414.3 million tons, a decrease of 0.8% compared to the previous year. Crude steel production has also been declining for two consecutive years since peaking at 1,480.9 million tons in 2021.
China, the largest consumer of steel scrap, used 213.68 million tons last year, a decrease of 0.8% compared to the previous year, while crude steel production remained stable at 1,019.1 million tons.
The EU-27 recorded the largest decrease in steel scrap consumption last year, with 74.85 million tons, a decline of 5.7% compared to the previous year. Crude steel production in the EU-27 also saw the largest decrease, falling by 7.3% to 126.4 million tons last year.
Last year's steel scrap consumption by country was as follows: USA 56.8 million tons (+0.4% year-on-year), Japan 31.82 million tons (-2.9%), Turkey 29.09 million tons (-3.9%), and South Korea 26.12 million tons (-0.7%).
While most countries experienced a simultaneous decline in crude steel production and steel scrap consumption, South Korea was unique in that it saw an increase in crude steel production (+1.4%) last year but a decrease in steel scrap consumption (-0.7%). The United States saw an increase in crude steel production (+1.1%) and a corresponding increase in steel scrap consumption (+0.4%) last year.
Globally, the trends of steel scrap consumption and crude steel production generally correlate with the decarbonization issues, but in South Korea, the domestic economic downturn, including the construction market slump that began in earnest last year, significantly reduced the steel scrap input ratio.
In fact, the ratio of steel scrap used in crude steel production in South Korea last year was 39.2%, down 0.8 percentage points from the previous year, marking the largest decline among the six countries.
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