Japan ferrous Scrap Export Decreases for 2 Years

Japanese ferrous scrap export decreased by 1.1% to 6.36 million tonnes in fiscal 2008 (Apr08-Mar09) from fiscal 2007, which lowered for 2 consecutive years, according to Ministry of Finance. Domestic steel makers increased the purchase volume of ferrous scrap until autumn. Meanwhile, the export to China expanded by 50% year-on-year.

The export increased by 52.4% to 3.77 million tonnes for China in fiscal 2008 from fiscal 2007 while decreased by 31.9% to 2.25 million tonnes for South Korea and by 56.9% to 171,000 tonnes for Taiwan. About 60% of the export was bound for China with 35% for South Korea and 2% for Taiwan.

The export to China represented the first increase since fiscal 2005. Chinese makers have aggressively purchased Japanese ferrous scrap since November, when Japanese ferrous scrap price dropped.

The export to South Korea decreased for 2 consecutive years with active demand for ferrous scrap in Japan by summer and steel output plunge in South Korea after autumn.The export to Taiwan decreased for 2 consecutive years. Taiwanese importers mainly use container ships from 2007 while Japanese scrap export is mainly by bulk ships. Japanese export competitiveness weakened.