Japan Ferrous Scrap Export Hits Record in January-June

Japanese ferrous scrap export hit record in January-June. The export was 3.844 million tonnes compared with the former record of 3.832 million tonnes in January-June 2005, according to Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association. The export was record both for South Korea and Taiwan while the export to China decreased to less than 1.4 million tonnes for the first time in 4 semesters. The export to South Korea, which was more than 300,000 tonnes per month since April, represented 42% of the total export. South Korean steel makers are shifting the scrap source from traditional USA to Japan. Japanese scrap export to South Korea represented 40% of total export in 2005 when the export to South Korea hit record at 3.028 million tonnes. The weight increased more in January-June 2006. Taiwanese buyers also increased import from Japan when US scrap price was higher than usual. Japanese scrap export to China decreased to 36% of total export in January-June from more than 40% in every semester since July-December 2004. Japanese scrap export increased by 11.6% to 1.625 million tonnes for South Korea and by 87.2% to 687,000 tonnes for Taiwan in January-June from same period of 2005 while the export to China decreased by 23.6% to 1.387 million tonnes, which decreased by around 400,000 tonnes from the record in January-June 2005. The total export increased by 0.4% to 3.844 million tonnes due to near 500,000 tonnes for South Korea and Taiwan.