Korea’s scrap imports surged 5% during Q1 this year

SEOUL (Scrap Monster):  The most recent data released by the Korean ministry suggests that ferrous scrap imports by the country climbed higher during the first quarter of the current year. Also, monthly imports during the month of March 2016 surged higher when compared with the month before.

Mar ’16 scrap imports

The country’s scrap imports totaled 488,000 tons during March this year. This is the first time that scrap imports by the country has crossed 400,000 since October last year. Year-on-year, the scrap imports have increased by 31.2%. The Korean scrap steel imports had totaled 372,000 tons during March last year. When compared with the previous month, the Korean imports have jumped significantly higher by 33.8%. The country had imported 365,000 tons of steel scrap during the month of February this year.

During Mar ‘16, Japan was the largest scrap exporter to Korea. The scrap imports from Japan totaled 274,000 tons, accounting for nearly 56.2% of the country’s total scrap imports. The scrap imports from Japan during the month were up by 12.5% year-on-year.

The second largest exporter of scrap to Korea in Mar ‘16 was the US. The scrap imports by the country from the US totaled 92,000 tons, rising sharply by 547.7% compared with March 2015. The top two scrap exporters to Korea accounted for nearly 70% of the total imports by the country during the month. In third place was Russia. The Korean scrap steel imports from Russia totaled 82,000 tons, increasing significantly by 50% when compared with the imports during February last year.

Feb ’16 scrap imports

The country’s total scrap imports during February this year amounted to 365,000 tons. The imports were down sharply by 21.1% when compared with the same month a year ago. Korean scrap imports had totaled 461,000 tons during February 2015. Also, scrap imports during Feb ’16 were down modestly by nearly 8.1% when compared with the imports of 397,000 tons during January this year.

During Feb ‘16, Japan was the largest scrap exporter to Korea. The scrap imports from Japan totaled 278,000 tons. The second largest exporter of scrap to Korea in Feb ‘16 was Russia. The scrap imports by the country from Russia totaled 41,000 tons. In third place was the US. The Korean scrap steel imports from the US totaled 10,000 tons, falling heavily by 89% when compared with the imports during February last year.

Jan ’16 scrap imports

The country’s total scrap imports during January this year amounted to 397,000 tons. The imports were up marginally by 9.9% when compared with the same month a year ago. South Korean scrap imports had totaled 361,000 tons during January 2015. Also, scrap imports during Jan ’16 increased slightly by nearly 0.8% when compared with the imports of 394,000 tons during December last year. During Jan ‘16, Japan was the largest scrap exporter to South Korea. The scrap imports from Japan totaled 237,000 tons. The second largest exporter of scrap to South Korea in Jan ‘16 was the US. The scrap imports by the country from the US totaled 66,000 tons.

Quarterly import data

The cumulative scrap steel imports by Korea during the initial quarter of the year totaled 1.250 million tons. The imports during the quarter were up by 4.5% upon comparison with the corresponding quarter a year before. Japan continued to remain as the top exporter of ferrous scrap to Korea during Q1 2016. The exports from Japan totaled 789,000 tons. The monthly scrap imports averaged at 417,000 tons during the quarter. The Korean scrap imports are likely to surpass 5 million tons during the entire year 2016.