By Anil Mathews

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The ferrous scrap imports by Japan and Korea declined significantly during the month of September this year. Also, the most recent data published by the Taiwanese Customs Department indicate considerable fall in import volumes of steel scrap by the country during Sep ’16.

According to Ministry of Finance statistics, Japan imported 10,020 tons of scrap steel during the month of September this year. The imports were down by 22.6% when matched with August. The country had imported 12,947 tons of scrap steel during August 2016. When compared with the previous year, the September ’16 imports were down sharply by 11.9%. Japan’s ferrous scrap imports had totaled 11,373 tons during the same month last year.

South Korea was the largest exporter of ferrous scrap to Japan during September this year. The imports from South Korea totaled 4,014 tons, accounting for more than 40% of the total monthly scrap imports by Japan. When matched with the previous month imports of 7,465 tons, the Sep ’16 imports were down by 46%. Taiwan was the second largest exporter during the month, with 2,850 tons. The ferrous scrap imports from Taiwan surged higher by more than 24% over the previous month. The other key exporters of ferrous scrap to Japan during the month were the USA (1,215 tons), Hong Kong (532 tons), Thailand (339 tons), China (175 tons) and Philippines (159 tons).

The data released by Korean Customs Department shows that South Korea imported 513,464 tons of scrap steel during the month of September this year. The imports were down by 5.4% when matched with the previous month. The country had imported 542,587 tons of scrap steel during August 2016. When compared with the year before, the September ’16 imports were down sharply by 14.2%. The country’s ferrous scrap imports had totaled 600,543 tons during September last year.

The largest exporter of ferrous scrap to South Korea during the month was Japan. The imports from Japan totaled 279,469 tons, accounting for more than 54%. The imports from the country witnessed 31.3% rise from September last year. Also, the imports from Japan increased significantly by nearly 10% when matched with the imports of 255,063 tons during prior month. Russia was the second largest exporter during the month, with 98,041 tons. The ferrous scrap imports from Russia surged higher by 16.6% over the previous year. The other key exporters of ferrous scrap to South Korea during the month were the USA (58,324 tons), Australia (33,923 tons), Puerto Rico (6,533 tons), Philippines (5,263 tons) and Costa Rica (5,125 tons).

According to data published by Taiwan Customs Department, the country’s scrap imports totaled 215,000 tons during September this year. The imports dropped heavily by almost one-third when matched with the imports of 320,923 tons during the previous month. The US accounted for more than half of the monthly scrap imports. The imports from the US totaled nearly 120,000 tons. The other key sources of import were Japan (27,810 tons) and Australia (16,525 tons).