Global ferrous scrap availability will hit the billion-tonne mark by 2030, largely driven by China, according to World Steel Association (Worldsteel) director general Edwin Basson.
This will be an increase of about 33% from the 750 million tonnes available globally this year, of which 630 million tonnes have been forecast to be recycled by the global steel and foundry casting industries, he told Fastmarkets MB on the sidelines of the association's annual conference last week in Tokyo.Wide-ranging changes "China is expected to see the strongest growth in scrap availability as the large quantities of virgin steel produced in the 1900s and 2000s come to the end of their first life in use and are recycled," Basson said.China's scrap availability is expected to increase to 300 million tonnes by 2030, up 50% from about 200 million tonnes presently, according to Worldsteel forecasts."An increased supply of ferrous scrap may accelerate the shift in the production route dynamics...