Ferrous Scrap Trade Exhibits Mixed Trend Towards End-2017

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The ferrous scrap imports and exports by world countries displayed mixed trends towards the end of 2017. The trade by Asian countries continued to paint mixed picture.

The latest statistics published by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) indicates dramatic rise in scrap imports by the country in November last year. The country’s imports during the month surged higher by over 200% to total 31,340 tons. The combined imports during the initial eleven-month period recorded 30% year-on-year jump to total 178,737 tons.

According to data released by the Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics (PFBS), the country’s imports totaled around 375,000 tons in November 2017, marginally down by 2.3% when compared with the month before. Over the previous year, the imports were up by nearly 17%. The value of ferrous scrap imports totaled $121 million this November.

Meantime, South Korea’s scrap imports recorded 16.5% increase from the previous year to total 541,098 tons in November 2017. The cumulative imports during Jan-Nov ’17 increased marginally by 4% to nearly 5.55 million tons.

The Malaysian trade statistics suggest significant surge in scrap imports during the month of September last year. The monthly imports were up by almost 8 times over the prior year at 127,682 tons. When compared with the prior month, the September imports were up by 124%. The country’s scrap imports during the first three quarters of the year totaled 488,954 tons.

India’s scrap imports have surged higher by around 60% to around 540,560 tons in September 2017. The country imported around 4.28 million tons during the first nine months of the year. The US was the main supplier of scrap to India, accounting for over 15% of the total imports by India. The other key suppliers were the UAE and the UK.

It must be noted that imports of steel scrap by world countries had registered 4% jump in 2016.

Meantime, Australia’s ferrous scrap exports surged higher significantly by 68% in October to total 196,295 tons. The country exported 1.576 million tons of scrap during Jan-Oct ’17. The exports during this period were up sharply by over 26%.

The US exported 1.541 million tons of ferrous scrap during October 2017. The export volumes surged higher by almost one-fourth upon comparison with the previous year. The first ten months of the year reported 17% jump in scrap export volumes. The exports during this period totaled 12.14 million tons. The ferrous scrap exports by the US to the end of September 2017 had surged higher by 22%.

Hong Kong’s scrap exports declined significantly by more than 19% year-on-year to total around 114,000 tons in October 2017. However, the country’s exports were still higher marginally by 1.7% at 1.138 million tons during Jan-Oct ’17.

The data released by the Brazilian Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade Development shows that the country reported considerable decline in ferrous scrap exports in November 2017. The exports were down by nearly 46% to total around 30,000 tons. The country’s exports during the first eleven months of 2017 totaled 553,000 tons.