By Anil Mathews (ScrapMonster Author)

January 08, 2016 07:41:13 AM

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): According to latest statistics released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF), the country’s imports of stainless steel scrap increased considerably during the month of November last year.

The imports during the month witnessed rise of 20.9% when compared with the previous month. The stainless steel scrap imports by Japan totaled 8,767 tons in November. Japan had imported 7,251 tons of stainless steel scrap during the month of October this year.

During the month of November, the largest exporter stainless steel scrap to Japan was South Korea. The exports from South Korea totaled 4,132 tons. The Japanese imports from South Korea dropped nearly 6.7% when compared with the imports of 4,428 tons during Oct ‘15. In second place was the US with total exports of 1,831 tons. The stainless steel scrap exports from the US to Japan skyrocketed by 128.6% month-on-month from 801 tons. The imports from South Korea and the US accounted for 47% and 21% respectively of the total imports by the country during November. In third place was Taiwan with 1,512 tons. The imports from Taiwan increased significantly by 91.4% over the previous month.

The country’s stainless steel scrap exports during the initial ten-month period of the year totaled 82,704 tons. Also, annualized stainless steel scrap imports during 2015 are projected at around 90,000 tons.