Japan’s stainless steel scrap exports plunged 38% in January

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The most recent trade statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) suggests significant decline in exports of stainless steel scrap by the country in January this year. On the other hand, imports of stainless steel scrap increased marginally during the month.

The Japanese stainless steel scrap exports totaled 9,547 tons during Jan ’17, significantly lower by 38.4% when matched with the month before. The country had exported 15,498 tons of stainless steel scrap during December last year. The largest importer of stainless steel scrap from Japan in Jan ’17 was South Korea. The exports to Korea totaled 6,562 tons, accounting for nearly 69% of the total exports out of the country. The exports to Korea were down by 3.9% when compared with the prior month. The exports were valued at Yen 745.125 million FOB during the month. The average price of export was $976.54 per MT. The second largest destination of Japanese stainless steel scrap exports was Thailand with 1,157 tons. The stainless steel scrap exports to Taiwan registered 15% decline during the month. The exports were valued at Yen 57.495 million FOB at an average price of $427.36 per MT. The other key importers were Taiwan (832 tons, down 64.3% month-on-month), Malaysia (388 tons) and Indonesia (301 tons).

As per trade statistics, Japan’s exports of stainless steel products dropped by one-fifth to 72,276 tons in January this year. The exports had totaled 90,869 tons in Dec ’16. The value of exports totaled $219 million during the month. The exports to all major destinations reported sharp fall during the month. The biggest decline in exports was those to Taiwan, which fell by 35.6%. The percentage declines in export to other destinations were: China (down by 20.9%), South Korea (down by 17.4%) and the US (down by 2.7%).

Japan imported 7,398 tons of stainless steel scrap during January this year. The exports increased slightly by 1.2% when compared with the prior month. The country’s stainless steel scrap imports had totaled 7,310 tons in December 2016. The largest supplier of stainless steel scrap during the month was South Korea. The imports from Korea increased by nearly 12% to total 4,177 tons. The second largest exporter was the US. The imports from the US rose by 11% month-on-month to 1,122 tons. In third place was Taiwan. The imports from that country tumbled nearly 32% over the previous month to 1,089 tons in Jan ’17.

Meantime, the country recorded sharp fall in imports of stainless steel products in Jan ’17. The imports dropped by nearly 15% over the previous month to 16,651 tons. The stainless steel products import by Japan had totaled 19,474 tons in December 2016. The key exporter of stainless steel products to Japan was South Korea. The imports from South Korea fell marginally by 0.7% to 13,015 tons when compared with the prior month. The imports from Taiwan reported sharp decline of nearly 63% in Jan ’17. Japan imported 1,618 tons of stainless steel products from Taiwan. In third place was China with 833 tons. The imports from the country reduced marginally by 0.5% over the month.