Asian region reports notable rise in steel scrap imports in Jan '17

March 03, 2017 04:00:54 AM

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): Major Asian countries reported considerable rise in steel scrap import volumes during the month of January this year.

The latest data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) suggests that scrap import volumes by the country increased considerably during the month of January this year, when matched with the imports during the same month a year before. However, the imports dropped when compared with the previous month. During January 2017, Japan imported 24,800 tons of scrap, significantly higher by 102.3% when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. The country’s scrap imports had totaled only 12,300 tons in January 2016. When compared with the imports of around 38,000 tons during December 2016, the imports during Jan ’17 reported 34.6% decline.

The largest exporter of scrap to Japan during Jan ’17 was Hong Kong. The imports from Hong Kong totaled 10,516 tons, accounting for over 42% of the total imports by Japan during the month. The imports from Hong Kong reported phenomenal jump of 4394% when compared with the same month a year before. The second largest exporter of scrap to Japan was South Korea. The imports from South Korea surged higher significantly by nearly 20% year-on-year to total 7,635 tons. South Korea accounted for nearly 31% of the total Japanese scrap imports during Jan ’17. In third place was Taiwan with 3,942 tons. The imports from Taiwan were up sharply by 141.2% year-on-year during the month.

The latest data released by the Korean Customs Department suggests that scrap steel imports by the country continued to rise during first month of 2017. The country’s scrap imports had recorded marginal uptick of 1.7% during 2016. Also, the imports had registered month-on-month rise during December last year.

The scrap import volumes by the country increased considerably during the month of January this year, when matched with the imports during the same month a year before. However, the imports dropped marginally when compared with the previous month. During January 2017, Korea imported 484,000 tons of scrap, 22% higher when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. The country’s scrap imports had totaled 397,000 tons in January 2016. When compared with the imports of 510,000 tons during December 2016, the imports during Jan ’17 reported 5.6% decline.

The largest exporter of scrap to Korea during Jan ’17 was Japan. The imports from Japan totaled 274,000 tons, accounting for nearly 57% of the total imports by Korea during the month. The imports from Japan surged higher by 15.5% when compared with the same month a year before. Japan’s scrap exports to South Korea had totaled 237,000 tons in January 2016. The second largest exporter of scrap to Korea was Russia. The imports from Russia surged higher significantly by 55.3% year-on-year to total 72,000 tons. Russia accounted for nearly 15% of the total South Korean scrap imports during Jan ’17.

Meantime, trade data from the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance signaled strong year-on-year growth in country’s scrap imports. The monthly imports increased by over 70% to total 292,831 tons. However, the imports were down by 23.2% over the previous month. The total value of monthly scrap imports amounted to $76.65 million.

According to data published by Taiwan Customs Department, the country’s scrap imports totaled 199,000 tons during January this year. The imports increased by nearly 13% when matched with the imports of 187,000 tons during the prior month. The US accounted for bulk of the monthly scrap imports. The imports from the US totaled nearly 81,000 tons, constituting over 40% of Taiwanese scrap imports during the month.