Japan's scrap exports surged 44% in Feb '15: MoF

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The scrap exports by Japan during the month of February this year surged higher significantly, as per the latest data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance. According to MoF data, the country’s scrap exports totaled 685,000 tons during the month. The exports soared 44.2% when compared with the exports during the same month a year ago.

The largest importer of Japanese scrap during the month of February this year was South Korea. The scrap imports by South Korea totaled 258,000 tons, constituting nearly 38% of the total scrap exports by Japan during the month. The scrap exports to South Korea rose 11.8% over the previous year.

In second place was Taiwan with 115,000 tons. The exports to Taiwan fell 27% when compared with the exports during Feb ’14. The third largest export destination for Japanese scrap was Vietnam with 124,000 tons. The exports to Vietnam skyrocketed 625% during the month.

The cumulative scrap exports by Japan during the initial two-month period of the year totaled 1.23 million tons. This is 34.8% higher when compared with the exports during the corresponding two-month period in 2014.

The country’s ferrous scrap exports had posted a decline of 9.8% in 2014. The yearly exports had totaled 7.351 million tons in 2014, as compared with the exports of 8.060 million tons during the entire year 2013.