How Many Cars Are Scrapped Each Year in the US
Scrapped VS Totaled
A scrapped vehicle has reached the end of its life and goes to a recycler. A totaled vehicle is an insurance call made when repairs cost more than the car is worth. Not every totaled car gets scrapped since some are rebuilt with a salvage title. CCC Intelligent Solutions found that 23.1% of auto claims ended with the vehicle being totaled in 2025, a new record. Close to 1 in 4 damaged cars are written off as totaled.
How Many Cars Are Scrapped Each Year in the US
Roughly 12 million to 15 million vehicles are scrapped in the United States every year, according to the US Geological Survey. Around 26 vehicles are scrapped every minute. The Automotive Recyclers Association reports that about 95% are recycled, with the steel industry pulling over 15 million tons of steel from retired vehicles each year to feed back into new production.
How Many Junkyards are in the US?
The Automotive Recyclers Association counts more than 9,000 automotive recycling locations across the United States, employing more than 140,000 people and generating over $32 billion in annual sales.
Many junkyards today run digital parts inventories and use specialized equipment to drain fluids and pull reusable parts before crushing the shell for scrap steel. About 86% of a vehicle's material content gets recycled, reused, or recovered for energy.
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