Japan's Scrap Imports Dropped 15% in August

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Japanese scrap imports declined sharply during the month of August this year, says the latest trade data published by the country’s Ministry of Finance (MoF). The most recently released statistics point to 15% year-on-year decline in imports during the month. However, the cumulative YTD scrap imports stood higher when compared with the corresponding period last year.

As per data, the country’s scrap imports totaled 11,000 tons in August this year. The imports dropped sharply by 15% when compared with August last year. Japan had imported nearly 13,000 tons of scrap in August 2016. The largest exporter of scrap to Japan during the month was South Korea. The country’s scrap imports from South Korea totaled 7,024 tons in August 2017, accounting for nearly 64% of total Japanese monthly imports. The other key suppliers of scrap to Japan during the month were Taiwan (962 tons), the US (572 tons), China (475 tons) and Hong Kong (286 tons).

Meantime, the cumulative scrap imports through the first eight months of 2017 totaled 118,000 tons. The imports during Jan-Aug ’17 were up by 10.8% over the corresponding period in 2016. The Japanese scrap imports had totaled only 106,500 tons during the initial eight-month period in 2016.

The Japanese scrap imports had totaled 9,000 tons in July this year, down sharply by almost one-fourth over the previous year.

According to Japanese MoF data, the country exported 727,000 tons of scrap in August this year, significantly higher by 11.5% when compared with August 2016. Also, the exports recorded 5.3% jump in volumes when matched with the month before. The Japanese scrap exports in August 2017 touched the highest level in five months. The scrap exports by Japan have now recorded month-on-month increase for three months in a row.

The largest destination of Japanese scrap was South Korea. The exports to South Korea totaled 297,000 tons, accounting for more than 40% of the country’s total scrap exports in August. The shipments to South Korea recorded 9.1% jump upon comparison with the previous year. The second largest importer was Vietnam with 182,000 tons. The imports of Japanese scrap by Vietnam surged higher by 55% over the previous year.

The country had exported 690,000 tons of scrap during July this year. The exports during the month were up by nearly 7% over the previous year.