Korea’s Scrap Imports See Substantial Decline In April

June 01, 2017 04:30:57 AM
BEIJING (Scrap Monster): According to trade data released by Korean Customs Department, the country’s scrap steel imports declined sharply over the previous month during the month of April 2017. This is the second straight month of decline for scrap imports by the country after touching 15-months high in February this year. The imports declined in comparison with the same month a year before.

The country imported 425,000 tons of scrap during April this year. The imports were down sharply by 21.4% when matched with the prior month. It must be noted that the South Korean scrap imports had totaled 541,000 tons in March this year. When compared with the previous year, the April ’17 scrap imports were down significantly by 12.3%. The country had imported 485,000 tons of scrap in April 2016.

The largest exporter of scrap to Korea during the month was Japan. The imports from that country totaled 306,000 tons, accounting for 72% of total scrap imports by Korea during the month. The imports from Japan were up by more than 7% when compared with the corresponding month last year. Russia emerged as the second largest scrap supplier to Korea. The imports from Russia totaled 69,000 tons during the month of April 2017, declining sharply by nearly 18% over the previous year.

The cumulative scrap imports by Korea during the initial four-month period of the year totaled 2.026 million tons, up by nearly 17% when matched with the corresponding four-month period in 2016. Japan, Russia and the US were the top three scrap exporters to the country. Japan topped the list with exports of 1.308 million tons, constituting approximately 65% share of Korean imports. The scrap supply from Japan surged higher by 22% over the previous year. The Russian exports too were up by 13% to 287,000 during Jan-Apr ’17. In third place was the US with total exports of 221,000 tons. The US scrap exports to Korea declined by more than 13% over the previous year, Customs data indicated.

Scrap Imports-Mar ‘17

The scrap import volumes by the country had increased during the month of March 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 March 2017, Korea imported 541,000 tons of scrap, 10.9% higher when compared with March ’16 and 6.3% down from Feb ’17.

The largest exporter of scrap to Korea during Mar ’17 was Japan. The imports from Japan totaled 353,000 tons. The second largest exporter of scrap to Korea was Russia. The imports from Russia declined considerably by 13.1% year-on-year to total 19,000 tons.

Scrap Imports-Feb ‘17

The country’s steel scrap imports had totaled 577,000 tons in February this year. The imports were up significantly by 58.3% over the previous year. Over the prior month, the imports registered a jump of nearly 19%.

The top supplier of scrap to South Korea during the month was Japan, traditionally the country’s largest scrap supplier for many months in a row. The imports from Japan totaled 375,000 tons, constituting nearly 65% of total South Korean imports. The South Korean imports of Japanese scrap increased significantly by 35% over the previous year. The second major source of scrap imports was the US. The imports from the US totaled 92,000 tons, accounting for nearly 16% of the Korean imports. The scrap import volume from the US skyrocketed by nearly 800% when matched with the imports during the same month a year before.