Japanese Secondary Zinc Makers Suffer Scrap Shortage

Secondary zinc ingot makers are concerned on material shortage. Zinc dross and residue generation had maintained low mainly from hot-dip galvanizing manufacturers and decreased even more since the Japan Earthquake. Little material inventory is left at secondary zinc ingot makers.

Hot-dip galvanizing production volume has shrunk by more than 30% in Japan in recent ten years mainly due to decrease of public works. After the Japan Earthquake in March 2011, the demand has declined even more since many new construction works were postponed or canceled all over Japan. As a result, zinc dross and residue generation decreased by about 20% from the pre-disaster level, said one major secondary zinc maker.

Zinc scrap generation also maintains low from die casting makers. Japanese die casting makers have shifted productive operations to overseas and then domestic scrap generation has decreased.

Scrap generation is expected to increase only from continuous galvanizing lines for automotive galvanized steel sheet when steel makers are raising the operations along automakers’ output expansion.