Study: Enough scrap to meet rising U.S. demand for recycled steel

(Posted on 04/03/25)

Enough domestic ferrous scrap is available for electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers to supply nearly all the steel the United States needs, and EAFs already produce the same high-quality steel as blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces, says a new study from Laplace Conseil.

The study, “A Transition towards Scrap-based EAFs Accelerates the Competitiveness and Decarbonisation of the American Steel Industry,” written by noted steel expert Marcel Genet, finds that the U.S. scrap reservoir already tops 4 billion tons and keeps growing. EAF steel accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. production and is expected to make up 90 percent by 2040.

The study notes that the shift from older steelmaking processes that depend primarily on coal and iron ore to newer processes that use electricity to turn scrap iron into new steel dramatically reduces carbon emissions. As proven iron ore reserves shrink, the study points out, the scrap supply grows.

“In short, due to a long history of steel production, significant imports of steel and steel-containing products, and mature steel consumption, the scrap reservoir available to be recycled yearly in the United States is substantial and growing,” Genet writes. “This robust scrap reservoir is supplemented by a rising global supply, which can support a transition toward a higher share of EAF steelmaking. … [S]crap quality is improving too and is not a limitation to producing even the most advanced grades and types of steel.”

“The study from Laplace Conseil confirms what steelmakers in America and around the world already know: the future of steel is in recycling, not mining,” SMA President Philip K. Bell says. “The availability of scrap and the quality of low-emissions production means that in the United States, in particular, the need for high-emissions steelmaking in blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces is diminishing. That change is good news for the environment and the competitiveness of American manufacturing.”

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