Higher Ferrous Scrap Use by Japan Converter Steel Making

Japanese scrap consumption by converter operations kept high at 13.5% in ferrous scrap rate for steel source in November, which was highest in this year, according to Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association. The converter operations’ scrap usage rate increased by 0.8% points in November from October, which has kept more than 12% since October 2006. Total consumption in January-November increased to 11.243 million tonnes by 81,000 tonnes corresponding to the same period of last year.The converter operations’ scrap usage rate keeps high level in 2007for the first time in about 30 years. The average usage rate in January-November achieved 12.5% up by 0.7 points corresponding to the same period of last year. Japanese integrated steel makers are increasing ferrous scrap consumption. They are expected to more increase the consumption in 2008.