Japanese Ferrous Scrap Exports Surged by One-Third

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Japanese ferrous scrap exports recorded notable surge in the initial three-month period of the current year, driven by weak domestic demand as the mills announced production curtailments in line with sluggish steel market demand.

The country exported 2.41 million tonnes of scrap during Q1 this year, significantly higher by 36% over the corresponding three-month period in 2019. The monthly exports of 866,254 tonnes in March 2020, was almost double the exports during the same month a year before, Customs data said.

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The single largest importer of Japanese scrap was South Korea, which accounted for nearly a third of the total exports by Japan. The imports by that country totalled 285,580 tonnes. Vietnam received 260,176 tonnes of scrap from Japan, representing 30% share of exports. The scrap exports to Taiwan totalled 112,929 tonnes, followed by Bangladesh with 99,726 tonnes. The above four key buyers received approximately 91% of Japan’s ferrous scrap exports in March 2020.

The recent lifting of emergency in certain regions will boost domestic demand for scrap, which is reportedly tight at present. This may limit exports in the forthcoming months. Also, trade participants foresee the chances of suppliers extending lead times of their export sales to more than the normal lead time of four weeks.