S. Korea ferrous scrap imports fell sharply in Dec 2015

By Anil Mathews (ScrapMonster Author)

January 25, 2016 01:58:50 AM

SEOUL (Scrap Monster): As per the most recent data, the ferrous scrap imports by South Korea during the month of December 2015 dropped sharply over the previous year. However, imports inched higher marginally when matched with the previous month. It is the second consecutive month that the steel scrap imports by the country have totaled less than 400,000 tons.

The country’s total scrap imports during December last year amounted to 394,000 tons. The imports were down sharply by 16.3% when compared with the same month a year ago. South Korean scrap imports had totaled 471,000 tons during December 2014. However, scrap imports during Dec ’15 increased slightly by nearly 1.8% when compared with the imports of 387,000 tons during November last year.

During Dec ‘15, Japan was the largest scrap exporter to South Korea. The scrap imports from Japan totaled 252,000 tons, accounting for more than 64% of the country’s total scrap imports. The scrap imports from Japan during the month were up by 21.7% year-on-year.

The second largest exporter of scrap to South Korea in Dec ’15 was the US. The scrap imports by the country from the US totaled 61,000 tons, down by 13.1% when compared with December 2014. In third place was Russia with supply volume of 37,000 tons. The South Korean ferrous scrap imports from Russia plunged by 64.9% year-on-year during the month.