TOKYO: According to latest statistics released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF), the country’s imports of stainless steel scrap increased during the month of October this year.
The imports during the month witnessed rise of 4.6% when compared with the previous month. The stainless steel scrap imports by Japan totaled 7,251 tons in October. Japan had imported 6,932 tons of stainless steel scrap during the month of September this year.
During the month of October, the largest exporter stainless steel scrap to Japan was South Korea. The exports from South Korea totaled 4,428 tons. The Japanese imports from South Korea increased nearly 6.2% when compared with the imports of 4,169 tons during Sep ‘15. In second place was the US with total exports of 801 tons. The stainless steel scrap exports from the US to Japan dropped sharply by 31.5% month-on-month from 1,170 tons. The imports from South Korea and the US accounted for 61% and 11% respectively of the total imports by the country during October. In third place was Taiwan with 790 tons. The imports from Taiwan declined significantly by 30.3% over the previous month.
Meanwhile, the average price of imported stainless steel scrap witnessed modest decline of 10.5% over the previous month. The prices of stainless steel scrap imports during the month averaged at ￥137,770/ton.
The country’s stainless steel scrap exports during the initial ten-month period of the year totaled 73,937 tons. Also, annualized stainless steel scrap imports during 2015 are projected at nearly 89,000 tons.
