Ferrous Scrap Export Rises Rapidly from Osaka in April

Ferrous scrap export is increasing rapidly from Osaka Bay. The export volume increased by 133.8% to 156,043 tonnes from 7 ports around Osaka (Osaka, Sakai, Kishiwada, Kobe, Amagasaki, Himeji and Higashi-Harima) in April from a year earlier, which hit the record high as April. The export from each port increased year-to-year. The export increased by 92.2% to 457,947 tonnes for January-April from the same period of 2008.

The export was 12,520 tonnes from Osaka in April, 6,750 tonnes from Kishiwada, 8,536 tonnes from Higashi-Harima, 54,874 tonnes from Sakai, 17,025 tonnes from Kobe, 30,935 tonnes from Amagasaki and 25,413 tonnes from Himeji.

Ferrous scrap purchase volume by local electric furnace steel makers decreased by over 50% to about 320,000 tonnes in April from a year earlier. The makers increased the purchase volume from East Japan for April-September 2008 when the supply and demand balance was tight. However, dealers are now exporting surplus ferrous scrap when domestic electric furnaces and integrated steels are decreasing the output.