MoF: Weak Local Demand Boosted Scrap Export Trade

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest export statistics published by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) hint at increased scrap exports out of the country, mainly driven by sluggish domestic demand. The domestic steel mill output continued to remain weak in late March to April this year.

The Japanese ferrous scrap exports in April 2020 totalled 903,016t. This was substantially up by 46.3% over the year. The exports climbed higher by 4.2% from the prior month. The cumulative exports during the initial four months of the year rose by 38.8% to 3.314 million t. The exports to South Korea and Vietnam surged, whereas those to Taiwan and Bangladesh registered decline on month.

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According to MoF data, South Korea remained as the largest buyer of Japanese ferrous scrap. The shipments to that country rose by 22.7% over the prior month to 350,616t. However, the Jan-Apr ’20 shipments were still down by almost one-fifth, compared with the year-ago period. The dearth of new infrastructure projects coupled with reduced level of foreign investment resulted in weak domestic demand for long steel products, thereby resulting in lower demand for scrap.

The scrap exports to other major destination were as follows: Vietnam (301,650t), Taiwan (101,262t) and Bangladesh (61,359t).