Author: Paul Ploumis06 Apr 2015 Last updated at 08:27:44 GMT
TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The ferrous scrap imports by Japan during the month of February this year dropped considerably, as per the latest data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
According to MoF data, the country’s scrap imports totaled 12,340 tons during the month. The imports were down by 18.3% when compared with the imports of 15,096 tons during the previous month. Also, the scrap imports during the month were 52.0% lower when compared with the same month a year ago.
South Korea was the largest exporter of scrap to Japan during February this year. The South Korean scrap exports to Japan totaled 8,614 tons during the month, accounting for nearly 70% of the total scrap imports by Japan during the month. In second place was Taiwan with scrap exports to Japan totaling 1,635 tons. The other main sources of ferrous scrap imports by Japan during Feb ’15 were Singapore (326 tons, 2.64% share), USA (322 tons, 2.61% share) and Thailand (249 tons, 2.02% share).
The cumulative scrap imports by Japan during the initial two-month period of the year totaled 27,436 tons. The scrap imports by the country plunged by 81.2% when matched with the imports during corresponding two-month period in 2014. The Japanese ferrous scrap imports during January to February last year had totaled 146,096 tons.
The largest scrap exporter to Japan during Jan-Feb ’15 was South Korea. The South Korean scrap exports to Japan totaled 18,447 tons during the two-month period, accounting for 67.2% of the total scrap imports by Japan during the month. In second place was Taiwan with scrap exports to Japan totaling 2,331 tons. The scrap imports from the USA totaled 2,206 tons during this period.
The country’s total scrap imports for the entire year 2015 are estimated at 165,000 tons.
