PITTSBURGH — Scrap metal exports represent a "potential niche cargo market" for Connecticut’s ports, according to a report commissioned by the state Department of Transportation that calls for more exports to be shipped from the Port of New Haven.

Scrap metal is the state’s single-largest export commodity by weight. Of the 950,000 tons of scrap produced in the state each year, about half is shipped to China, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, with the balance trucked to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, the report said.

"In order to capture a greater share of the volume of scrap from Connecticut ‘leaking’ to other ports, it may be necessary to develop and support, perhaps with some incentives, a statewide brokering system," the report said.

One opportunity would be for Connecticut’s three largest scrap processors—identified in the report as New York-based Sims Metal Management Ltd., Norwalk, Conn.-based LaJoie’s Scrap Metal & Recycling, and Stamford-based Rubino Brothers Inc.—to enter a public-private partnership to develop such a brokering system, which would allow smaller scrap metal dealers to export through the Port of New Haven.

The state could offer benefit grants or other incentives to increase scrap exports through New Haven, the report suggested, noting that the scrap metal industry is a vital and growing business, particularly with steel production increasing on other continents.

"This report is an important tool to strengthen the economic potential of Connecticut’s deepwater resources," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. "Expanding business development and creating jobs are keys to economic recovery, and this study highlights ways we can support our maritime industries and effectively compete for limited federal resources."