How did the Pandemic affect the Scrap Recycling business?

 The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted businesses of every nature. The lockdowns and restrictions had caused disruptions in working practices and operations. As businesses moved to remote work model, those that could not adapt to this model due to the nature of their business faced heavier losses. Metal scrap recycling business was no exception to this turmoil. 

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Some countries do not have abundant metal resources. As a result, there isn’t enough raw materials/ores to be used in manufacturing various commodities. In such case, the country imports scrap metals. Importing scrap metals is a more economical option rather than importing metal ore or virgin metal. For example, Canada imports steel and had ranked first in imports in 2017-2018. https://www.statista.com/statistics/281050/major-target-countries-for-steel-scrap-imports/#:~:text=Canada%20was%20the%20country%20with,steel%20scrap%20in%20the%20world.  In order to contain further spread of the virus, countries around the world imposed travel restrictions and bans. This had a profound influence on the scrap metal recycling business around the world. General speculation that international metals market getting back on track; it seems that in the first quarter of the year 2021, there will be a tangible growth in the metal scrap import and export. 

It is crucial to note that amongst all other factors, high costs of the new metal resources are the driving force behind metal scrap and recycling business. The cost of metals, if not stable, is projected to rise to keep up with demand. Since the pandemic, businesses have started to aim to operate within limited budget and resources. Recycled metal is therefore going to be the only way to cope with the demand-supply chain while maintaining economical balance. 

One of the hard-hitting realities of the industries being closed for operations due to lockdown was the unemployment. A significant amount of metal scrap comes from households and local markets – great example being the Dubai scrap yards. Hence, the workforce involved in metal recycling business the local as well as international markets have restructured their business strategies and creating more employment opportunities.  

Pandemic given an opportunity to all businesses started to consider using the already available resources instead of sourcing new ones. According to Technavio, the global scrap recycling business is projected to grow at a steady 4% in the coming years. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200924005435/en/

Lucky Recycling, part of the Lucky Group, has been spearheading recycling initiatives in the UAE. The organization works at all levels to ensure optimum utilization of the resources – which is now inevitably need of the hour and our only hope for sustaining post-pandemic. 

For more information please visit www.luckygroup.com.

Disclaimer: This article(s) has been prepared solely for information purpose, using publicly-accessible sources that are believed to be accurate and reliable at the time of publishing. LUCKY GROUP accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage resulting from the use of information, images or opinions expressed in the report. LUCKY GROUP does not give warranty of any kind regarding the completeness, accuracy and reliability of the information included in the article(s).