Metal Recycling: Industry Report

Metal Recycling

Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: Key Note Publications Ltd
Published: September 2009
Product Code: R310-1731

Description

This Key Note Market Report examines the UK metal recycling market, which reached an estimated value of £2.41bn in 2008. The volume of scrap metal consumed in 2008 stood at 5.6 million tonnes — 6.4% below the 2007 estimates, which were at their highest level since 2001 at just over 6 million tonnes. The negative growth in 2008 spelled the end of the run of a rising period of recycled metal sales, and the start of the recession in UK manufacturing output. In value terms, scrap metal consumption declined by 3% in 2008 from a 10-year high of £2.49bn in 2007. Between 2004 and 2008, overall sales of scrap metal have increased significantly, boosted by the high rise in the value of scrap metal during this period, particularly in 2005 and 2006.

For the purposes of this report, the metal recycling market is divided into the broad categories of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The ferrous metals sector comprises iron or steel, and the non-ferrous category includes six types of metal: aluminium (the largest non-ferrous subsector by volume), lead, copper, zinc, nickel and tin. The report also includes references to precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Metal recycling has traditionally been one of the most profitable sectors of the recycling industry in the UK, with steel scrap having the highest recycling rate. The market has been driven by large-scale home recycling encouraged by local authorities that have pledged to meet the Government’s set targets, and the metal producer schemes for steel cans and aluminium have made it easier to obtain metal for reprocessing. The UK has become a net exporter of metal scrap, boosted by strong demand for scrap metal in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other Asian countries, as well as the weakness of sterling against the euro and dollar.

The recession in the UK and the global economic downturn in 2008 had a major effect on the UK and international metal recycling markets. Prices tumbled in 2008, with contracts cancelled and steel, aluminium and other metal producers shutting down excess capacity. This was in stark contrast to the previous year’s buoyant conditions of high prices and demand for recycled metals.

The current recession in the UK is expected to have a continued negative impact on the metal recycling market well into 2009, before gradually recovering as key export markets such as the PRC begin to pick up. Three general factors lying outside the economic cycle that will have a strong influence on the market in the future are: increased adoption of newer and sophisticated metal recycling equipment; further environmental pressures to encourage people to recycle more metal; and EU and UK legislative changes to reduce barriers to UK exports of recycled metal and impose tighter controls on the metal recycling industry. Key Note forecasts that the market will contract by 12.5% by volume in 2009, but will increase by an overall 24.6% from 4.9 million tonnes to 6.1 million tonnes between 2009 and 2013.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
1. Market Definition: REPORT COVERAGE; MARKET SECTORS; MARKET TRENDS; ECONOMIC TRENDS; MARKET POSITION
2. Market Size: THE TOTAL MARKET; BY MARKET SECTOR; OVERSEAS TRADE
3. Industry Background: RECENT HISTORY; NUMBER OF COMPANIES; EMPLOYMENT; REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN THE MARKETPLACE; HOW ROBUST IS THE MARKET?; LEGISLATION; KEY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
4. Competitor Analysis: THE MARKETPLACE; MARKET LEADERS; OTHER COMPANIES; OUTSIDE SUPPLIERS; MARKETING ACTIVITY
5. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: STRENGTHS; WEAKNESSES; OPPORTUNITIES; THREATS
6. Buying Behaviour: INTRODUCTION; CUSTOMER PROFILE
7. Current Issues: TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
8. The Global Market: WORLD FERROUS SCRAP CONSUMPTION; GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS AFFECTING WORLD SCRAP DEMAND
9. Forecasts: INTRODUCTION; FORECASTS 2009 TO 2013; MARKET GROWTH; FUTURE TRENDS
10. Company Profiles: CORUS UK LTD; ELG HANIEL METALS LTD; EUROPEAN METAL RECYCLING LTD; MOUNTSTAR METAL CORPORATION LTD; NOVELIS UK LTD; SIMS GROUP UK LTD
11. Further Sources
Key Note Research
The Key Note Range of Reports

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