Malaysia’s June ferrous scrap imports hit highest level in 2016

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics released by the Malaysian Department of Statistics indicate that the country’s ferrous scrap imports increased sharply in June ’16, in comparison with the previous month. The imports during the month touched the highest level so far this year. However, cumulative scrap imports by the country during the half-yearly period were down significantly by over 61% when matched with the corresponding six-month period in 2015.

Malaysia imported 30,193 tons of scrap steel during the month of June this year. The imports were up by 5.2% when matched with the previous month. The country had imported 28,711 tons of scrap steel during May 2016. However, monthly volume touched the highest level of 2016, providing early indications of sustained recovery in scrap import volumes.

The biggest exporter of ferrous scrap to Malaysia during June this year was Singapore. The imports from Singapore totaled 13,065 tons, accounting for more than 43% of the total scrap imports by Malaysia during the month. The imports from the country witnessed 6% rise from May ’16. The US was the second largest exporter during the month, with 8,670 tons. The ferrous scrap imports from the US surged higher by 42% over the previous month. In third place was Australia with 2,949 tons. The other key exporters of ferrous scrap to Malaysia during the month were Japan (2,270 tons), the UK (1,002 tons), Thailand (823 tons), New Zealand (494 tons) and Papua New Guinea (356 tons).

The country imported 123,158 tons of scrap steel during the initial six-month period of the year. The imports were down considerably by 61.4% when compared with the net import volume of 318,750 tons during the period from January to June in 2015. The monthly imports averaged at 21,000 tons so far this year. At the current rate, the country’s scrap steel exports are estimated to total around 250,000 tons during the entire year 2016.

The largest exporter of ferrous scrap to Malaysia during the initial six-month period of the year was Singapore. The imports from Singapore totaled 52,309 tons, accounting for 42.5% share of the total imports by the country during the period. The imports from Singapore dropped sharply by over 25.9% from the previous year. The United States was the second largest import source during the first half of the current year. Malaysia’s ferrous scrap imports from the US totaled 31,253 tons, accounting for 25.4% share of the country’s imports during the period. The imports from the US dropped heavily by nearly 57% year-on-year. In third place was Australia with 9.8% share of total Malaysian imports. The imports from Australia tumbled by 89% year-on-year to 12,012 tons during Jan-June ’16. The other key suppliers of ferrous scrap to Malaysia during the six-month period were Japan (11,738 tons), the UK (4,019 tons), Latvia (2,010 tons), New Zealand (1,778 tons), Thailand (1,608 tons) and Papua New Guinea (1,606 tons). Thailand was the only supplier to report jump in ferrous scrap export volumes to Malaysia during Jan-June ’16. The scrap imports from Thailand were up by nearly 15% when compared with the corresponding half-yearly period in 2015.

The yearly scrap imports by Malaysia during 2015 had touched the lowest levels since 1998. The yearly imports had totaled 445,513, dropping sharply by 53.7% over the previous year. Australia was the key exporter of scrap steel during the year. The country accounted for 28.3% share (126,069 tons) of the total imports by Malaysia during the year. In second place was the US with 113,578 tons, accounting for nearly one-fourth of the total monthly imports. The US was closely followed by Singapore. The imports from the country had totaled 110,350 tons during the entire year 2015.