The scrap supply in China was expected to increase by 2023 and substitute 35 million tons of iron ore demand.

In 2022, the operating rate of electric arc furnaces (EAF) decreased by 8.7% year on year to 56.4%, which caused the usage of scrap to decline by about 1.5 million tons. During the same period, the demand for iron ore went up by more than 10.5 million tons year on year.

The increasing scrap supply is important to ease the pressure on the iron ore supply. As of 2025, China’s scrap production was forecasted to go up by 31% from 2020 to 340 million tons. Scrap consumption was set to reach 300 million tons by 2025, up by 70 million tons from the 2020's level.