By Paul Ploumis
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The recent trade statistics released by the Thai Customs Department suggests significant jump in ferrous scrap imports by Thailand during the month of April this year. The imports during the month were up by over 97% over the imports during the corresponding month a year before. The ferrous scrap supply from the US and Australia reported notable increase during the month.
According to Customs data, the ferrous scrap imports by Thailand totaled 108,019 metric tons in April this year. When matched with the previous month, the imports were up by 54.4%. Thailand’s ferrous scrap imports had totaled only 69,972 metric tons (mt) in March 2017. When matched with the same month a year before, the imports during the month were up by almost 97.3%. It must be noted that the country’s imports had totaled only around 55,000 metric tons in April 2016.
The key scrap supplier to Thailand during April this year was the US. The imports from the US totaled 72,515 metric tons, accounting for 67% of total imports by Thailand. The scrap imports from the US jumped mutifold from just under 1,800 mt in March this year. The second largest exporter of scrap to the country in April was Australia with 5,978 mt. The imports from Australia jumped higher by 103% upon comparison with the imports during March 2017. In third place was Dominican Republic with 3,036 mt. The other key exporters in April this year were Panama (1,831 mt), Philippines (1,711 mt), Trinidad & Tobago (1,672 mt) and the UK (1,355 mt).
The combined ferrous scrap import by Thailand during the initial four-month period of the current year totaled 455,993 tons, significantly higher by 45.6%. The single largest exporter of ferrous scrap to Thailand during Jan –Apr’17 was the US. The country’s exports totaled 168,899 mt of scrap to Thailand. The imports from the US accounted for 37% share of total imports by Thailand during this period. The scrap supply from the US surged higher by 59% over the previous year when matched with supply of 106,206 mt in Jan-Apr ’16. In second place was New Zealand with 35,207 mt, constituting 7.7% share of Thailand’s imports. The imports from New Zealand jumped higher from 24,468 mt by 44% over the corresponding four-month period in 2016. Japan, with total imports of 29,706 mt of scrap was in third place. The imports from the country more than doubled from 14,358 mt in Jan-Apr ’16. The other primary scrap suppliers to Thailand during the four-month period from January to April this year were Australia (25,465 mt), South Korea (20,123 mt), Brazil (17,299 mt), the UAE (13,898 mt) and Philippines (13,851 mt).
The countries to report significant year-on-year decline in ferrous scrap shipments to Thailand during Jan-Apr ’17 were: Singapore (-99.1%), Russia (-96.5%), Taiwan (-79.2%), Hong Kong (-62.8%), Vietnam (-49.3%) and Australia (-48.8%).
The monthly ferrous scrap imports by Thailand averaged at 113,000 tons per month during the current year. Also, going by the current rate, the cumulative imports by the country are likely to total around 1.370 million tons during the entire year 2017, Thai Customs Department noted.
