Recycled Metal Market Size By Metal (Ferrous, Non-ferrous [Aluminum, Copper, Lead, Precious Metals]), By End-user (Building & Construction, Transport, Industrial Machinery, Electrical & Electronics, Defense, Packaging, Consumer Goods, Nuclear, Military, Jewellery, Coins, Chemical), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Application Growth Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2019 – 2025

Recycled Metal Market Size

Recycled Metal Market size was over USD 64 billion in 2018 and is projected to expand at over 4% CAGR over the forecast timeframe.
 

Strong urbanization & industrialization rate in Asia Pacific and the Middle East is probable to boost the construction industry, which will have subsequent impact on metal demand in the coming years. Regional government is making substantial investment in major construction projects mainly in India, UAE, Saudi Arabia and other emerging nations. According to Indian Brand Equity Foundation, India has requirement of investment worth USD 777.73 billion in infrastructure by 2022 to attain sustainable development in the country. The above mentioned trends are anticipated to drive metal demand and thus will trigger metal recycling, resulting in driving the overall recycled metal market size in the forecast time spell. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals are widely used in the building & constructions industry in bridges, building frameworks, tunnels, etc. and nearly half of the steel produced globally is used in the building & construction industry.
 

China plans to make large investment of worth USD 2.7 trillion in transportation & infrastructure industry, which in turn will have subsequent positive impact on metal demand and thereby likely to make notable contribution to the overall recycled metal market size in the forecast timeframe. Moreover, stringent legislations formulated by the regional regulatory bodies to enforce metal recycling in order to reduce carbon footprint will have positive impact on the reprocessed metal market size in the near future. For instance, Chinese industry standard SB/T 11049-2013 states operation practices of scrap metal recycling company. Furthermore, GB 16487.2-13 standard states environment protection control standards for imported solid wastes as raw materials. These trends are likely to make significant positive influence on the overall market size during the forecast timespan.
 

Ineffective recycling process is a major factor hindering the overall reprocessed metal market size in the coming years. For instance, ferrous metals recycling constitutes more than 40% of its total production. This is attributed to inefficient recycling process and machinery which are incompetent in attaining ferrous scrap from the total waste generated. However, consistent technology upgradation and rising focus on metal recycling owing to stringent legislations is likely to improve the metal recycling rate which will help attain considerable gains to the overall market in the forecast time spell.
 

Recycled Metal Market Analysis

In terms of volume, recycled ferrous metal market share constituted approximately 90% of the total industry share in 2018. Ferrous metals include iron & steel and finds wide-ranging applications across building & construction, transport, industrial machinery, electrical & electronics, defense and various other sectors. Its major application in building & construction is in manufacturing bridges, steel frameworks for buildings, drainage components and other architectural framework as it provides durability, strength, resistance to weather, etc. Growing ferrous metals demand from the abovementioned applications along with rising government initiatives to promote metal recycling will drive the recycled metal demand and thereby expected to trigger the reprocessed metal market growth in the forecast timeframe.
 

Recycled metal market share for transport constituted approximately 15% of the global recycled metal industry share in 2018. This is attributed to wide-ranging metal applications across transportation sector. For instance, ferrous metals are widely applicable in manufacturing automotive, ship, aircraft and marine components owing to its high strength, durability, stiffness, etc. Additionally, non-ferrous metals such as lead is widely applicable in the production of batteries which are used in the transportation sector. Strong rise in the transportation sector mainly in the economies such as China, India and Japan will trigger demand for recycled metal which will help drive the overall industry share by 2025.
 

Asia Pacific led the overall recycled metal market and accounted for more than 60% of the total industry share in 2018. Strong regional growth is mainly driven by rapidly growing construction, transportation and electronics industry in the region. This is attributed to rising investment in the mega infrastructure projects mainly in China and India by the regional government to boost country’s economy which will trigger recycled metal demand in the coming years. Moreover, rising socio-economic factors, purchasing parity and easy loan approvals is driving the automotive industry in the region, which will have direct positive impact on metal demand, resulting in propelling metal recycling process and therefore reprocessed metal market size in the coming years.
 

Recycled Metal Market Share

Recycled metal market share is highly consolidated as the major players constituted more than 50% of the total industry share in 2018. Some of the major processed metal industry players are

• Nucor Corporation
• Aurubis Ag
• Steel Dynamics
• Novelis
• Commercial Metal Company
• Sims Metal Management
• European Metal Recycling
• ELG HanielGmbh
• Schnitzer Steel

 Most of these players are making substantial investment in forming strategic partnership in order to enhance their overall presence in the industry share. For instance, Sims Metal Management acquired Morley Waste Traders, a leading metal recycler in the UK which resulted in a total ownership of around 50 recycling facilities across UK. Such acquisitions contribute significantly in attaining higher gains in the industry share.
 

Industry Background

Metal recycling involves reprocessing metals without altering its properties. Ferrous metals are among the most recycled metals across the globe. However, other metals such as non-ferrous metals (aluminum, copper, lead, precious metals, zinc, nickel, etc.) are also recycled in the market. Recycled metal finds wide-ranging applications in building & construction, transportation, electrical & electronics, industrial machinery, defense, military and various other end-user industries.
 

Strong product demand from the building & construction, transportation and electronics industry in Asia Pacific will be a major driving factor for the recycled metal market size in the coming years. Additionally, stringent regulations and laws imposed by European Commission in Europe to reduce waste generated and its impact on the environment is another major factor which is likely to trigger reprocessed metal market size in the coming years.