World Scrap Import Trade Flourished Towards End of 2017

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The scrap import trade gained significant momentum towards the end of 2017, as suggested by trade statistics published by several countries.

Thailand’s scrap imports skyrocketed by over 500% to total 176,000 tons in November 2017. The combined imports during the first eleven months of the previous year totaled around 1.56 million tonnes, marginally higher by 7.3% over the previous year. The monthly imports averaged at 140,000 tons. Thailand imported almost 27% of scrap from the US. The imports from the US were up by almost 35% year-on-year to total around 400,000 tons. The other key scrap suppliers were China (300,000 tons) and Australia (120,000 tons).

According to trade statistics, South Korean scrap imports totaled nearly 6.17 million tons during the entire year 2017, higher by 5.7% from 2016. Japan was the top exporter with 4 million tons, representing almost 65% of total South Korean imports. The imports from Japan registered 17.4% jump from 2016. Russia (1 million tons) and the US (520,000 tons) were the other key suppliers of scrap to South Korea during the year.

Vietnam imported 9% more scrap in 2017, as compared with 2016. The country’s scrap imports totaled around 3.91 million tons when compared with the imports of 3.59 million tons in 2016. Almost 39% of the imports came from Japan. The other primary sources of import were Hong Kong and the US.

The Indian scrap imports totaled 408,370 tons in October last year. The cumulative imports during the initial ten-month period of the year witnessed sharp year-on-year decline of 11% to total 4.69 million tons. The largest scrap supplier was the US (710,000 tons), followed by the UAE (610,000 tons) and the UK (470,000 tons).

Turkey imported 19 million tons of scrap during Jan-Nov ’17. The imports were up by almost 18% over the corresponding period in 2016. The US (3.3 million tons), the UK (2.7 million tons) and the Netherlands (2.4 million tons) were the key suppliers. The imports totaled 1.8 million tons during the month of November alone.

The data published by the Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics (PFBS) suggests 17% year-on-year jump in scrap imports during November 2017. The imports totaled 374,880 tons during the month.

Meantime, Malaysian scrap imports surged higher by nearly 8 times over the previous year to total 127,682 tons in Sep ‘17. The country imported 488,954 tons of scrap during Jan-Sep’17.