Ferrous Scrap Imports Hit Historic Low in February: China Customs

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Chinese ferrous scrap imports dropped drastically during the month of February this year, upon comparison with the same month a year before. The imports totaled 8,305 tons, down significantly by almost 96% when matched with the imports of around 188,000 tons in February 2018. The tight restrictions imposed by the Chinese administration on imports of waste material into the country have badly impacted import volumes.

The largest supplier of ferrous scrap to China during the second month of 2019 was South Korea. The imports from that country totaled 2,650 tons, accounting for almost 32% of ferrous scrap imports by China during the month. The second largest source of import was Japan, who supplied 1,264 tons to China. The other key scrap suppliers were Malaysia (914 tons), Hong Kong (637 tons) and Germany (618 tons).

The cumulative imports during the initial two-month period totaled 36,415 tons, down significantly by 87.3% from the imports during the comparable period in 2018. China had imported 287,347 tons of ferrous scrap during Jan-Feb ’18.

South Korea improved their share of exports to China. The country shipped 8,305 tons of scrap to China, accounting for 22.8% share of total Chinese imports. It must be noted that South Africa’s share in Chinese imports during Jan-Feb ’18 was only 2.1%. The other primary scrap suppliers during the initial two-month period of 2019 were Japan (4,984 tons) and Malaysia (3,114 tons).