North American Scrap Exports Map

Busiest Container Ports in North America

Port Facility	2008 Container Traffic*
Los Angeles	7.85 million
Long Beach, CA	6.35 million
New York	5.26 million
Savannah, GA	2.62 million
Metro Vancouver, BC, Canada	2.49 million
Oakland, CA	2.24 million
Hampton Roads (Norfolk), VA	2.08 million
Tacoma, WA	1.86 million
Houston	1.79 million
Seattle	1.70 million
San Juan, PR	1.68 million
Charleston, SC	1.63 million
Montreal	1.47 million
Manzanillo, Mexico	1.41 million
Honolulu, HI	1.12 million
Port Everglades, FL	985,000
Miami	828,000
Veracruz, Mexico	716,000
Jacksonville, FL	697,000
Baltimore	613,000
Anchorage, AK	544,000
Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico	525,000
Altamira, Mexico	436,000
Halifax, NS, Canada	387,000
Wilmington, DE	268,000
Figure is for all container traffic, not scrap-specific units, measured in TEUs (20-foot equivalent units)
Source: American Association of Port Authorities

The first decade of the century has included a number of noteworthy developments for the scrap industry that are significant trends or even fundamental, long-term changes.

The acceleration of the amount being exported would probably be considered by many in the scrap industry as one of the major trends.

Recyclers on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts have long had a thriving export trade, but their level of export activity has hit new peaks this decade.

Recyclers in other parts of the country have, in some cases, become newly familiar with exporting this decade or have seen a once minor part of their business become much more substantial this decade.

Among the beneficiaries of the export boom have been freight companies that serve the international market as well as port authorities and districts through which international shipments move.

The map on these two pages is designed to portray the routes scrap shipments are taking as they leave North America for Asia, Europe, the Middle East and other foreign destinations.

Two lists are referenced on the above map:

• A list from the American Association of Port Authorities, Alexandria, Va., records the busiest container ports in North America in 2008. The list includes port facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The numbers on this list are for overall containers received and shipped back out and are not scrap-specific. However, nonferrous and (increasingly) ferrous scrap has been increasingly placed in containers as an export commodity, with these containers generally shipping from the most active ports and mirroring overall container ship traffic patterns.

• A list from the United States Geological Survey records the customs districts through which the most ferrous scrap moved in 2008. This list also serves to portray scrap trading within the NAFTA region, as several customs districts record ferrous scrap being shipped from the United States to consuming mills in Canada and Mexico.

According to these lists, the volumes of both container traffic and ferrous scrap exported were at or near record

Largest Ferrous Scrap Export Districts

Customs District	2008 Fe Scrap Volume*
Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA	5,860,000
New York	3,230,000
Boston	1,560,000
San Francisco/Oakland	1,440,000
Seattle	1,180,000
Philadelphia	993,000
New Orleans	955,000
Portland/Columbia/Snake, OR	937,000
Pembina, ND	529,000
Tampa, FL	520,000
Detroit	502,000
Houston-Galveston, TX	500,000
Providence, RI	442,000
Norfolk, VA	372,000
Savannah, GA	370,000
Laredo, TX	306,000
Buffalo, NY	282,000
Miami	246,000
Honolulu, HI/Anchorage, AK	186,000
San Juan, PR	177,000
*Measured in metric tons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau; United States Geological Survey

levels in 2008. The ability of exporters to match these volumes in the future is likely to be tied to an economic rebound that matches worldwide scrap demand with an American ability to again generate larger volumes of scrap within its borders.