South Korean scrap imports tumbled 22% y/y in March '14

25 Apr 2014 Last updated at 05:36:55 GMT

SEOUL (Scrap Monster): The scrap imports by South Korea continued its declining trend during the month of March, as per the latest trade data released by the Ministry. The scrap imports by South Korea totaled 658,000 tons during the month, 21.9% lower when compared with the imports during same month the previous year. The scrap imports during March hit the worst level in past seven months.

The largest import source of scrap by South Korea was Japan. The total scrap imports from Japan amounted to 337,000 tons, accounting for more than 50% of the total imports by South Korea during the month. The scrap imports from Japan dropped by 33.4% in March over the year.

In second place was the US. The scrap exports by the US to South Korea totaled 134,000 tons. The South Korean imports from the US were down 16.9% in March this year when compared with the imports during Mar ’13.

The total scrap imports by South Korea during the period from January to March this year amounted to 2.29 million tons. The scrap imports during the three-month period were marginally higher by 1% when compared with the imports during the similar three-month period in 2013.

It is estimated that South Korean scrap imports during the entire year 2014 will hit 9.17 million tons.

Author: Paul Ploumis