Ferrous Scrap Trade Exhibited Mixed Trend in February

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics published by various Asian counties suggest mixed trend for ferrous scrap trade during the month of February this year.

The trade data published by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) indicates modest decline in scrap exports in Feb ’18. The country’s scrap exports totaled around 675,000 tons during the month, registering a decline of 5% when compared with the previous year. The Japanese scrap exports had totaled around 711,000 tons in February last year. This is the third consecutive month of decline, MoF said.

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The sharp drop in export to leading destinations such as China and Taiwan more than offset the jump in exports to South Korea and Vietnam, thereby leading to overall decline in export volumes during the month. The exports to Taiwan witnessed sharp decline by 56.5% over the previous year to total 14,000 tons. The exports to China too were down significantly by over 23% to 118,000 tons. On the other hand, Japanese scrap shipments to South Korea totaled 399,000 tons, higher by nearly 13% year-on-year. The country received almost 59% of the total scrap exported by Japan during the month. The Vietnamese imports too were up by 22% to total 136,000 tons.

The scrap exports by South Korea totaled 33,500 tons in February this year. The exports dropped by almost one-third, upon comparison with the corresponding month last year. The largest export destination was Vietnam. The exports to that country totaled 9,880 tons. Japan, with imports of 7,100 tons, was the second largest destination of scrap exports from South Korea. The cumulative exports totaled 66,500 tons during the first two months of the year.

The monthly scrap imports by Vietnam totaled around 300,000 tons in February. This is significantly lower when matched with the imports of 590,000 tons reported during Jan ’18. Year-on-year, the imports were down by 17%.