Japan Steel Makers’ Heavy Scrap Purchase Drops by 40.4% in 2009

Japanese steel makers’ heavy ferrous scrap purchase volume decreased by 40.4% to 1.515 million tonnes in 2009 from 2008, according to Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association. The volume represented 56.8% of total purchase volume, which decreased by 3 percentage points. The purchase weight of new cutting scrap, turning scrap and pig iron scrap increased by 1.1 point to 27.9%.

The heavy scrap purchase decreased by 34.4% to 2.945 million tonnes for HS grade in 2009 from 2008. The volume decreased by 41.5% to 3.002 million tonnes for H1 and by 44.9% to 3.171 million tonnes for H2 grade. The weight of total volume was 14.5% for HS, 14.8% for H1 and 15.6% for H2.

The industrial scrap purchase volume decreased by 34.8% to 3.512 million tonnes for new cutting scrap in 2009 from 2008. The volume decreased by 38.8% to 1.517 million tonnes for steel turning scrap and by 21.8% to 634,000 tonnes for pig iron scrap. The weight was 17.3% for new cutting scrap, 7.5% for steel turning scrap and 3.1% for pig iron scrap.

Japanese steel makers’ scrap purchase volume decreased by 37.3% to 20.285 million tonnes in 2009 from 2008, which decreased for 2 years in a row.