Japan's ferrous scrap exports continued to decrease in August because of reduced overseas scrap demand and a sluggish seaborne steel market.
August exports fell by 14pc from the previous month to 492,000t, data from Japan's customs show. Total exports from January to August fell by 7.4pc on the year to 4.3mn t.
The tepid seaborne steel market largely drove slower export activities. Overseas buyers slowed down their purchases of imported scrap, in response to a lower production rate and squeezed profit margins. This caused the scrap price at Tokyo Steel Utsunomiya plant to fall by ¥14,000/t ($94/t) from mid-July to the end of September, bolstering bearish sentiment in the seaborne market.
Vietnam remained the top buyer of Japanese scrap, while Taiwanese buyers favoured containerised scrap from the US west coast and South Korean buyers reduced scrap imports from all origins. Mills in Bangladesh withdrew from the seaborne market in July, because of operational disruptions following protests. The Philippines became the fifth-largest buyer in August at 27,067t.
Export volumes are expected to increase in the coming months as Japanese scrap prices become more competitive in the seaborne market.
| Japan's ferrous scrap exports | t | ||||
| Destination | August | % ± vs Jul | % ± vs Aug '23 | Jan-Aug | % ± on year |
| Vietnam | 171,520 | -25.0 | 25.4 | 1,649,616 | 62.2 |
| South Korea | 159,620 | 34.0 | -13.0 | 1,118,333 | -42.9 |
| Bangladesh | 59,478 | -19.4 | -9.2 | 343,557 | 21.5 |
| Taiwan | 31,176 | -5.6 | -61.5 | 432,846 | -34.6 |
| Others | 70,383 | -39.2 | -30.2 | 713,970 | 4.7 |
| Total | 492,177 | -13.7 | -13.3 | 4,258,323 | -7.4 |
| Source: Japan customs | |||||
