US pig iron import volumes tumble in April after price surge

US pig iron imports sank in April after a surge in imports and prices the previous month depleted Brazilian suppliers and discouraged US mills from further procurement.

But strength in global steel prices boosted demand for ferrous scrap exports from the US to Turkey and Mexico, US census data showed.

US pig iron imports slumped 80.2% year on year and 79.1% month on month to 94,279 mt in April. Pig iron imports prices touched a multi-year high of $1,030/mt CIF New Orleans March 18 and were still at $940/mt on the same basis April 29, up from $575/mt April 26, 2021, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. US pig iron imports were last assessed by Platts at $810/mt CIF New Orleans June 3.

Brazil remained the largest supplier of pig iron to the US in April with volumes of 73,945 mt, down from $217,648 mt in March. Shipments to the US from Russia were absent in April, compared with volumes of 152,313 mt in March, due to a political fallout following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an important pig iron supplier to the US in previous years.

US ferrous scrap exports rose 45.8% year on year and a 37.5% month on month to 1.45 million mt in April, US census data showed. Exports to Turkey surged 111% year on year in April, while exports to Mexico soared 138% over the same period.

The surge in US scrap export volumes to Turkey in April followed a spike in Turkish hot-rolled coil prices to the highest levels since 2008 to $1,320/mt ex-works on an average in March, before slipping to $1,250/mt on an average in April. Platts last assessed Turkish domestic HRC at $830/mt ex-works June 1.

Turkish heavy melting scrap 1/2 (80:20) import prices peaked to a multiyear high of $665/mt CFR March 16 before pairing gains. The prices were last assessed at $425/mt June 9, according to S&P Global.