Global Ferrous Scrap Market 2025 – 2034

As per the Ferrous Scrap Market analysis conducted by the CMI Team, the global Ferrous Scrap Market is expected to record a CAGR of 7.1% from 2025 to 2034. In 2025, the market size is projected to reach a valuation of USD 75.47 Billion. By 2034, the valuation is anticipated to reach USD 143.75 Billion.

Ferrous Scrap Market Overview

The ferrous scrap market is looking good, and it will probably grow steadily in the forthcoming years. Increasing steel demand and a general global movement toward sustainable practices will drive this growth. This will keep the market growing based on demand due to steel production, mainly in emerging economies like India, which are trying to focus on increasing domestic production capacity.

While gazing at different countries on their road to carbon footprint reduction, the recycling of ferrous scrap will be an integral part of the steel production process, with electric arc furnaces (EAF) being the most preferred steel production method. Since North America and Europe focus on improving recycling infrastructures and technologies, subsequently increasing scrap processing efficiencies, the future will also be shaped through taxes on local industries and different policies aimed at promoting recycling.

That said, the ferrous scrap flow will be controlled largely in the context of global trade and tariff policies, with heavy influences from the changing import-export strategies of China, the U.S., and India. Going forward, the biggest innovation drivers are the technological advancement of EAF and regulatory requirements on the environment, while market disruption will continue to be the consequence of general instability in raw material pricing. In summary, the ferrous scrap market is projected to grow sustainably at a steady rate, with sustainability and technological integration as key growth drivers.

Ferrous Scrap Market Significant Growth Factors                                                     

The Ferrous Scrap Market Trends present significant growth opportunities due to several factors:

• Changing Demand Steels: A major influence on the ferrous scrap market mainly rests upon global steel demand. The demand for steel in construction, automotive, and infrastructure projects is escalating with the growing economies, especially seen in developing countries. Very much in focus is also green steel production, with said production especially via electric arc furnaces (EAF), which gives high importance to scrap steel as a prime raw material. With many nations increasing manufacturing capacities and urbanization, the demand for steel and consequently ferrous scrap will witness consistent growth, hence a conducive environment for market growth.

• Sustainability and Recycling Drives: Environmental rules supporting recycling are yet another benefit to market growth. Governments all over the world are keen on lowering carbon emission levels and embracing the circular economy. The energy consumption and emissions in steel production utilizing ferrous scrap are substantially lower compared to the conventional blast furnace route. The more companies and countries tend toward sustainability practices, the greater will be the demand for scrap-based steel production, hence promoting a more sustainable and cost-efficient steel industry.

• Technological Advances in Recycling: The ferrous scrap market continues to form in favor of scrap processing and recycling technology advancing. Innovations include automated sorting, better shredding technologies, and enhanced iron scrap separation methods that minimize cost and optimize processing efficiency. They enable steel producers to recover high-quality scrap and enhance the viability of the recycling process. With the enhancement in these recycling technologies, there should also arise an enhancement in handling mixed or contaminated scrap, therefore enabling an increase in scrap supply and consequently making recycling even more attractive for steel mills.

• Urbanization and Infrastructure Growth: The ferrous scrap market is legitimately an advanced sector in the global trend of urbanization. As urban settlements extend, steel demand for infrastructural works such as bridges, roads, and general buildings grows with a screaming proportion. Therefore, the construction, housing, and demolition activities are leading to more scrap from old infrastructure and dysfunctional buildings. Thereby, a strong demand environment is created for the ferrous scrap market; old infrastructure recycling is on the move.

• Government Support and Trade Policies: The government also has a major role to play in the growth of the ferrous scrap market. Some regimes have incentive policies for recycling, including tariff protection for local scrap markets. The USA and India, for example, are two countries that have put forward programs reducing import duties on scrap or subsidizing domestic recycling programs. Trade policies empowering these exchanges of scrap from major producing countries to regions with more steel demand further trigger the international flow of ferrous scrap.

Ferrous Scrap Market Significant Threats

The Ferrous Scrap Market faces several significant threats that could impact its growth and profitability in the future. Some of these threats include:

• Price Fluctuation in Scrap: One of the most serious threats to the ferrous scrap industry from time to time is its inherent volatility in scrap prices. Fluctuations in global steel demand, energy prices, and supply chain changes influence prices for ferrous scrap. An economic downturn, restricted trade, or local market disruption creates rapid changes in pricing uncertainty for scrap suppliers and steel producers. Significant drops in scrap prices cause profitability to shrink for processors and recyclers, which affects the entire market dynamic.

• Trade Barriers and Tariffs: Tariffs and trade barriers can damage the crossing of borders with ferrous scrap. Like the U.S. and India, with the foremost policymaking aspects going for the protectionist policies, they are placing their domestic steel industries. Even though these protective measures are taken to secure local jobs and industries, they create access deprivation in the international scrap markets, resulting in supply deficits and cost increases. Most of all, such trade-restricting abilities prevent companies from accessing competitive scrap prices, thus limiting their operational flexibility.

Ferrous Scrap Market Opportunities

• The demand for greener steel is on the increase: The increase in global trends regarding sustainability opens up ferrous scrap markets; the competitiveness of scrap-based steel as an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to virgin steel is boosting its demand as countries increasingly adopt stricter environmental regulations. All of this comes as the companies want more investments in sustainability practices with increased reliance on ferrous scrap for steel-making because they are already poised to take full advantage of the change. The whole movement toward green steel is in favor of giving competitive strength to scrap recyclers and steelmakers, wherein these businesses infuse sustainability elements into their operations.

• Technological developments in Recycling: These technological advancements and innovative approaches to recycling bring a huge opportunity to the ferrous scrap market. Sorting, shredding, and processing technologies make ferrous scrap recycling easier and cheaper. These factors improve both the potential yield of usable scrap and the recycled material, leading to better profitability for scrap processors. In addition, advanced technologies, like automated sorting systems and Artificial Intelligence technologies in recycling, offer huge potential for efficiency improvement and significant growth for early technology adopters.

• Growth in Emerging Markets: Emerging economies prove the heavens for new markets. Mainly, the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions are highly privileged to experience this kind of development in ferrous scrap. The increasing industrialization and urbanization processes in these regions predict a greater steel demand as time goes on, and so does ferrous scrap for domestic steel or export. India, Brazil, and Mexico have scaled up their steel production with new investments and are also revamping their recycling infrastructure, which is expected to increase scrap demand and create really good opportunities for scrap recyclers and processors in those countries.

Ferrous Scrap Market Category-Wise Insights

By Application

• Steel Production: Steel production is still the main outlet for ferrous scrap. A global move toward EAF technology in steel mills is boosting the use of scrap instead of virgin raw materials to produce steel. EAF-based steel production is attractive economically and environmentally, raising demand for ferrous scrap as a sustainable alternative. With the growing demand for steel in emerging economies, this application segment will further lead the market.

• Automobile Manufacturing: Ferrous scrap is used on a massive scale in the automobile manufacturing industry. In the increasing trend of vehicle recycling, scrap steel from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is being reprocessed for use in new car production. This trend boosts scrap demand in regions with established vehicle recycling programs. The transition to EVs will further influence scrap demand, as lightweight materials may substitute some of the steel, which will nevertheless remain highly relevant in the automobile manufacturing industry.

• Construction Industry: The construction sector is a key application for ferrous scrap given its structural steel demands. With urbanization fast catching up in developing areas, the demand for steel toward infrastructure projects—i.e., bridges, skyscrapers, and roads—will further drive scrap market growth. Thus, construction scrap demand closely follows the general growth in construction activities and government expenditure on infrastructure.

• Foundry and Casting: Foundries and casting industries use ferrous scrap in parts and components for several industries, e.g., automotive, machinery, and industrial equipment, while requirements for high-quality castings from these industries will allow growth in the scrap market in this segment due to an increasing trend toward replacing virgin materials with recycling scrap.

By Type

• Heavy Melting Scrap (HMS): Heavy Melting Scrap is one of the most common forms of ferrous scrap that is widely used and includes material like industrial machinery, old ships, discarded steel structures, and so on. HMS commands a very high price in the industry owing to the purity and ease of processing in EAFs. Demand for HMS is expected to remain buoyant, particularly from areas that will witness mega infrastructure projects shortly.

• Shredded Scrap: The shredded scrap consists of larger, bulky scrap materials that have been processed into smaller parts for ease of handling and transporting. The shredded scrap is very versatile and is used mostly by EAFs but can also find its use in blast furnaces. The important factors that spur the growth of this segment are the increased efficiency in recycling technologies and advanced sorting technologies, improving shredded scrap quality as well as yield. It becomes very important, particularly in countries where scrap processing facilities are already in operation.

• Turnings and Bundles: The turnings and bundles are produced mainly due to the recycling of industrial scrap and often contain metal shavings and ferrous material in smaller sizes. The turnings and bundles find applications primarily in steel mills in producing specific grades of steel. Although volumes of turnings and bundles are lower than those of HMS or shredded scrap, their contribution toward the manufacture of specialized steel grades will continue to keep them in demand in niche applications.

By End-User

• Steel Mills: The steel mills are mainly dependent on the ferrous scrap waste. They melt this collected scrap metal into steel by using EAFs, or Electric Arc Furnaces. The use of scrap going to steel production becomes more crucial with the continuing conversion from blast furnaces to energy-efficient, environmentally friendly EAFs. Steel mills are looking for high-quality scraps these days for the abundant consumption of EAF to become more efficient in environmental performance.

• Foundries: Foundries utilize ferrous scrap in their foundries for making cast products that are used in different branches, such as automotive, construction, and machinery components. Foundry shall remain at the forefront of users of ferrous scrap as the demand increases for cast iron and steel parts. There is a trend towards lightweight materials in the automotive industry, but it still will not decrease the demand for ferrous scrap in casting applications.

• Recycling Places: Recycling plants are responsible parts of the ferrous scrap market. They put waste into certain categories and process it from the scrap into steel mills or foundries. These plants provide an indispensable part of raising the recycling rate in ferrous scrap and their energy toward satisfying the yet unfulfilled global requirement for green and cost-effective steel. An extension to the recycling infrastructure, particularly in the emerging markets, would increase the number of recycling plants and subsequently the amount of ferrous scrap in the market.

Ferrous Scrap Market Impact of Recent Tariff Policies

Recent tariff regimes have rightfully imposed their impact on the ferrous scrap markets worldwide and in India, thereby changing the patterns of trade and affecting pricing and local production strategies. The imposition of tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum imports by the United States in 2025 has forever changed international trade.

A consequence of these tariffs has been limiting U.S. access to imports of scrap and steel, so that now surplus steel from countries like China, South Korea, and Japan is being exported to alternative markets, one being India. This influx of imports, especially from China, has exerted some downward pressure on Indian steel prices, which may pose a threat to the profitability of domestic mills.

For that reason, a 12% provisional safeguard duty has now been placed by India on certain steel products to ward off cheaper imports, particularly of those arriving from China. India has proposed that the customs duties on imports of ferrous scrap be allowed to remain suspended until 2026 as an incentive for domestic recycling.

In the future, balancing tariff policies with international trade relations and ensuring a steady supply of ferrous scrap will be the defining agenda for India’s plans of increasing its steel production capacity to 300 million tons by 2030. These policies are reshaping the market; however, their eventual success will be governed by global trade and resource management.

Report Scope

Ferrous Scrap Market Regional Analysis

The Ferrous Scrap Market is segmented into various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Here is a brief overview of each region:

• North America: North America is one of the prominent regions on the global front of the ferrous scrap market, with the U.S. ranked as the largest consumer and exporter of ferrous scrap. The U.S. steel industry depends on recycled scrap, with electric arc furnaces (EAFs) accounting for most production, which is prompted by sustainability and economic considerations to an even greater extent. Canada also takes a significant share in contributing to the ferrous scrap market by way of its recycling infrastructure, while Mexico’s steel production capacity is on the rise, along with developing its recycling sector. The market is currently sustained by rising steel demand for infrastructure development and automobile production, alongside the drive toward greener manufacturing. However, with some trade barriers or tariffs, scrap flow may be affected, which indirectly impedes the growth of the market.

• Europe: Europe, through such countries as Germany, the U.K., and France, is one of the significant players in the global ferrous scrap market. EU environmental regulations force an increase in scrap-based steel production from electric arc furnaces. Turkey is the main scrap importer, while Italy also plays a major role in the recycling industry. The region’s focus on attracting ferrous scrap in connection with greener steel production should accelerate market growth.

• Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region is naturally the fastest-growing ferrous scrap market, led by countries such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea. China is the largest steel producer globally, and while it had mostly depended on blast furnaces, more and more it is using scrap-based steel production because of the pressures of environmental regulations. India, with a rapidly growing recycling infrastructure and an expanding steel industry, is a key contributor to this market. Japan and South Korea largely rely on imported ferrous scrap for steel production, with both countries having well-established recycling sectors. Therefore, urbanization and industrialization trends will bolster the demand for ferrous scrap with continuing activity, particularly in India and China, thus continuing to push growth in this region.

• LAMEA: LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East, and Africa) is an emerging market for ferrous scrap, with significant growth expected within the Latin American, Middle Eastern, and African regions. In this regard, Brazil is a crucial actor in Latin America, being a producer and exporter of ferrous scrap, while Mexico is improving its recycling infrastructure. In the Middle East, countries like Saudi Arabia focus on expanding their steel production capacity, which, in turn, renders this production reliant on scrap, while African nations like South Africa and Egypt are also slowly developing their scrap recycling industries. The increasing industrialization and urbanization in these regions, together with the expansion of steel production, will factor in driving demand for ferrous scrap. Further, the marketing region of LAMEA is expected to grow steadily since both recycling infrastructure and production setups are improving within the steel sector.

Ferrous Scrap Market Key Developments

In recent years, the Ferrous Scrap Market has experienced several crucial changes as the players in the market strive to grow their geographical footprint and improve their product line and profits by using synergies.

• In April 2025, Nucor Corporation announced a $500 million investment in a new electric arc furnace (EAF) plant in the U.S., aimed at expanding its scrap-based steel production. This initiative is designed to increase the company’s use of ferrous scrap, aligning with its sustainability and growth objectives by 2026.

• In March 2024, Schnitzer Steel expanded its scrap metal recycling facilities in the U.S. in March 2024, enhancing its capacity to process ferrous scrap more efficiently. The company integrated advanced sorting technologies to improve the quality of materials, supporting the rising demand for high-quality scrap in steel manufacturing.

• In January 2024, ArcelorMittal launched a major initiative in January 2024 to increase its reliance on recycled ferrous scrap by investing in advanced electric arc furnace (EAF) technology. This development is aimed at reducing carbon emissions and meeting the growing global demand for sustainable steel.

• In February 2024, Sims Metal Management opened a new state-of-the-art recycling facility in the U.K. in February 2024. The facility enhances the company’s scrap processing capabilities, contributing to carbon reduction goals while improving efficiency in the steel production process through better material sorting.

• In March 2024, Gerdau S.A. announced the expansion of its steel recycling operations in Brazil. The company invested in automated scrap sorting systems to improve recycling efficiency and the quality of ferrous scrap used in its steelmaking processes. This initiative aims to meet growing demand while ensuring sustainability.

These important changes facilitated the companies to widen their portfolios, to bolster their competitiveness, and to exploit the possibilities for growth available in the Ferrous Scrap Market. This phenomenon is likely to persist since most companies are struggling to outperform their rivals in the market.

Ferrous Scrap Market Competitive Landscape

The Ferrous Scrap Market is highly competitive, with a large number of product providers globally. Some of the key players in the market include:

• ArcelorMittal
• Nucor Corporation
• Schnitzer Steel Industries
• Commercial Metals Company (CMC)
• Steel Dynamics Inc.
• Tata Steel Limited
• Posco Recycling
• JFE Steel Corporation
• SSAB
• Liberty Steel Group
• Gerdau S.A.
• Mitsubishi Corporation RTM Japan Ltd.
• Oryx Stainless
• Sims Metal Management
• Hanwa Co. Ltd.
• Liberty Iron & Metal Inc.
• Katalor Enterprises
• Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. Ltd.
• Baosteel Group
• Severstal
• Others

These companies implement a series of techniques to penetrate the market, such as innovations, mergers and acquisitions, and collaboration.

The competitive environment of the ferrous scrap market consists of a mix of large established companies and emerging players, resulting from various technological advancements, regional market dynamics, and trade policies. Domestic as well as international aspects mostly benefit from key players such as ArcelorMittal, Nucor Corporation, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Sims Metal Management, and Gerdau S.A. They hold a major share of the market by setting up big recycling and processing plants with cutting-edge technology to improve the efficiency of the scrap sorting and processing.

Such giants and others are expanding through acquisition and investment in recycling infrastructure, keeping pace with the growing demand for “green steel”. By increasing local and regional service capabilities to meet the demand for scrap, domestic players define the market as well. Ferrous scrap is defined by countries like China, India, Turkey, and Brazil as significant consumers and suppliers, each with continuous efforts to improve their recycling capacities and put in place sustainable systems.

The market is towards sustainable development, where both economics and the environment support increasing recycling purposes in steel production. The tariffs and trade policies heat the market since countries develop protective measures to favor their domestic scrap processing industries. The market is along its constant mobility, with players constantly modifying their strategies in line with changing policies and evolving consumer needs. Further, technological advancements in recycling methods and sorting technologies will continue to disrupt the competitive landscape, as companies aim for higher efficiency as well as cost reductions.

The Ferrous Scrap Market is segmented as follows:

By Application

• Steel Production
• Automobile Manufacturing
• Construction Industry
• Foundries and Casting

By Type

• Heavy Melting Scrap (HMS)
• Shredded Scrap
• Turnings and Bundles

By End-User

• Steel Mills
• Foundries
• Recycling Plants

Regional Coverage:

North America

• U.S.
• Canada
• Mexico
• Rest of North America

Europe

• Germany
• France
• U.K.
• Russia
• Italy
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

• China
• Japan
• India
• New Zealand
• Australia
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Rest of Asia Pacific

The Middle East & Africa

• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Egypt
• Kuwait
• South Africa
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Latin America

• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of Latin America

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