Steel scrap exports by Hong Kong rise by one-third in November

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics released by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department indicate that the country’s steel scrap exports increased sharply during the month of November last year, upon comparison with the same month a year before. However, the exports declined when matched with the prior month. The steel scrap exports by Hong Kong in October last year had touched the highest levels since May 2016.

According to statistics, Hong Kong exported 131,000 tons of steel scrap during November 2016. The exports increased significantly by over 32% when matched with those during November 2015. The country had exported less than 100,000 tons of scrap steel during Nov ’15. Meantime, the Nov ’16 exports declined by nearly 7% from the 6-month highs recorded in October. It must be noted that exports during October last year had totaled 140,685 tons, hitting the highest level since May 2016.

The primary destination of steel scrap from Hong Kong during Nov ’16 was Vietnam. The imports by Vietnam surged higher significantly by 67% over the previous year. The exports to Vietnam totaled 54,000 tons, thereby accounting for over 41% share of the total exports by Hong Kong during the month. The second largest importer was China. The imports by China increased marginally by 3% year-on-year to total 25,000 tons.

The cumulative steel scrap exports by the country during the initial eleven-month period of 2016 totaled 1.25 million tons. The monthly exports averaged at around 114,000 tons. The country’s steel scrap exports for the whole year 2016 are projected to total nearly 1.36 million tons.

Exports-Oct ‘16

Hong Kong exported 140,685 tons of scrap steel during the month of October last year. The exports were up sharply by 36.5% when matched with the previous month.

The biggest importer of ferrous scrap from Hong Kong during the month was Vietnam. The imports by Vietnam from Hong Kong totaled 68,085 tons, accounting for more than 48% of the total monthly scrap exports by Hong Kong. The imports from Hong Kong witnessed sharp rise by more than 75% from September ’16 levels. Indonesia was the second largest importer during the month, with 26,497 tons. The ferrous scrap exports to Indonesia surged higher by nearly 65% over the previous month. In third place was China with 22,822 tons.

Exports-Sep ‘16

The country exported 103,060 tons of scrap steel during the month of September 2016. The exports were up by 7.4% when matched with the prior month.

The largest importer was Vietnam, accounting for more than 37% of the total scrap exports by Hong Kong during the month. The imports by Vietnam totaled 38,780 tons. China was the second largest importer during the month, with 30,307 tons. The ferrous scrap exports to China from Hong Kong surged higher by nearly 30% over the previous month. In third place was Indonesia with 16,089 tons.

The table below provides the summary of Hong Kong’s ferrous scrap exports during the first eleven months of 2016.