UK exports of deep-sea ferrous scrap bulk cargoes fell on the year and the month in the quiet holiday month of August.
Exporters dispatched an estimated 225,000t deep sea in August, down by 34.7pc from July and by 12.1pc on the year, based on vessel tracking data processed by Argus.
Shipments were split between the UK's largest export market, Turkey, which accounted for 175,000t, and Egypt, with an estimated 50,000t.
Turkish receipts were 36pc higher than in August 2019, reflecting UK deep-sea exports' recovery from Covid-19, which halted shipments between late April and late May.
In June-August, the UK shipped an estimated 787,000t of ferrous scrap deep sea, up by 7.7pc on the year.
Deep-sea bulk shipments in January-August totalled an estimated 2.52mn t, up by 17.8pc. This was even as overall UK ferrous scrap exports fell sharply, with official trade data indicating a 24pc fall in the first half of the year.
The size of this uptick in a year of immense disruption to scrap collection and export capability reflects a major drop-off in exports through the UK's two other main avenues — containers and short-sea coasters.
Containerised exports were severely restricted in February-April by the shortage of containers caused by backlogs at Chinese ports as a result of coronavirus restrictions. Since then, demand has stayed much weaker in all key container export markets, with the exception of Pakistan.
Short-sea coaster exports to continental Europe have also been hit hard, first by lockdowns in the UK's main regional buyers, Spain and Portugal, and then by the damage caused to these economies and resulting lower steel and scrap demand.
Official UK export data indicate a 42pc fall in scrap shipments to Spain and a 36pc fall in deliveries to Portugal for January-July.
UK domestic demand has also been hit by Covid-19.
In the absence of other export outlets, large UK exporters have focused on Turkey and Egypt, and smaller recyclers have shifted flows towards these large exporters' deep-sea docks.
The minimal impact of Covid-19 on Turkish domestic steel and imported scrap demand this year has provided a lifeline for major exporters to that country. UK exporters upped shipments to Turkey by 22.5pc in January-August to an estimated 1.58mn t. And shipments to Egypt rose even more sharply — by 44pc to an estimated 710,000t.