US May 2016 scrap exports rise, Exports by Korea and Russia drop sharply

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

August 01, 2016 07:57:38 AM

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics released by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) indicates that the country’s scrap exports climbed higher during the month of May this year. The US steel scrap exports during the month totaled 1.317 million tons. This is significantly higher by 35.8% when compared with the exports during the prior month. The US scrap exports had totaled 969,409 tons during April this year. The May ’16 scrap exports were up by 6.3% over the previous year. The US scrap exports rose for the first time in three months during the month. Also, the May ’16 scrap exports by the country touched the highest level in almost 18 months.

The largest export destination of US scrap during May this year was Turkey. The US steel scrap exports to Turkey totaled 519,000 tons, accounting for nearly 40% of the total scrap exports by the US during the month. The scrap exports to Turkey increased sharply by 56.7% year-on-year. The exports had totaled 331,000 tons in May 2015.

The cumulative steel scrap exports during the initial five-month period of 2016 totaled 4.867 million tons, down by 12.3% when compared with the corresponding period last year. The US steel scrap exports had totaled 5.50 tons during January to May in 2015. The monthly exports averaged at 973,000 tons during the first five months of 2016. Also, going by the current rate, the country’s steel exports are estimated to touch 11.68 million tons during the entire year 2016.

Also, the latest statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) indicates that scrap steel exports by the country rose further during the month of May this year. The monthly exports were up when matched with the previous month as well as the year-ago month. The country’s scrap exports are up for the eighth consecutive month.

The country’s scrap exports totaled 904,000 tons during May this year. This represents a sharp rise of 26% when matched with the exports during the same month a year before. The country’s scrap steel exports had totaled 717,000 tons during May last year. When matched with exports during the prior month, May ’16 exports were up by 4.5%.

The largest importer of Japanese scrap during the month was South Korea. The scrap imports by South Korea totaled 308,000 tons, constituting over 34% of the total scrap exports by Japan during the month. The scrap exports to South Korea increased marginally by 0.4% over the previous year. In second place was Vietnam with scrap steel imports from Japan totaling to 245,000 tons. The exports to Vietnam surged significantly higher by nearly 87.5% year-on-year. The exports to Bangladesh surged higher significantly from 314 tons in May last year to nearly 49,000 tons this year.

The cumulative exports during the initial five-month period of the current year totaled 3.918 million tons. The exports are projected to surpass 9 million tons during the entire year 2016.

The most recent trade statistics released by Russia indicates that the country’s steel scrap exports declined considerably during the month of May this year. The country’s scrap exports during the month totaled 458,000 tons. The exports witnessed decline of 6.9% over the year and 32.4% over the prior month.

The largest export destination of Russian scrap during May this year was Turkey. The Russian exports to Turkey totaled 265,000 tons, accounting for nearly 58% of the total Russian exports. The exports to Turkey increased sharply by nearly 24% year-on-year. According to trade data, Russia exported 2.164 million tons of scrap during the initial five months in 2016. The country’s average monthly scrap exports amounted to 433,000 tons. The Russian steel scrap exports are expected to total around 5.20 million tons during the entire year 2016.

The most recent data released by the Korea Customs and Trade Development Institution suggests that ferrous scrap exports by the country dropped significantly during the month of May this year. The exports were down by 43.5% when matched with the previous month and by nearly 5% over the same month last year.

The country’s scrap exports totaled 40,000 tons during the month, as compared with the exports of 42,000 tons during May 2015. The largest export destination for Korean scrap during the month was China. The scrap exports from Korea to China during the month totaled nearly 11,000 tons. The exports to China dropped sharply by nearly 16% year-on-year during May this year.

The cumulative scrap exports by Korea during the initial five-month period of the current year totaled 230,000 tons, nearly 20% higher when compared with the previous year. The monthly exports averaged at 46,000 tons. Going by the current rate, the country’s annual scrap exports are likely to total 550,000 tons during 2016.