China Scrap Usage Increase 46%, Exports Up Sharply - BIR

Rolf Willeke, Statistics Advisor of the BIR Ferrous Division, summaries below the main findings in his January-June 2017, in the ongoing World Recycling Convention organized by BIR (Bureau of International Recycling) in New Delhi.

Global crude steel production increase of around 4.5% in the first half of 2017

• Figures from worldsteel for the first six months of 2017 confirm an increase in global crude steel production of around 4.5% to 836 million tonnes compared with 800 million tonnes in the same period of 2016.
  
  

• Statistics for January-June 2017 show a year-on-year crude steel production increase in China (+4.6% to 419.745 million tonnes), the EU-28 (+4.1% to 86.129 million tonnes), the USA (+1.3% to 40.591 million tonnes), Japan (+0.5% to 52.305 million tonnes), the Republic of Korea (+3.7% to 34.699 million tonnes), Russia (+0.8% to 35.34 million tonnes) and Turkey (+11.4% to 18.215 million tonnes).
  
  

• Global crude steel capacity utilisation in June this year was 73%, which was 1.4 percentage points higher than in the same month last year.
  
  

Further increase in steel scrap usage

• China was the world's biggest steel scrap user in the first half of 2017; there was a steep increase in its scrap consumption of around 46% to 62.2 million tonnes compared with 42.6 million tonnes in the same period of last year.
  
  
• The first half of 2017 brought 4.8% growth in the EU-28's steel scrap usage to 47.717 million tonnes. The biggest steel scrap users in the EU-28 were Italy (+5.8% to 10.986 million tonnes), Germany (+3.2% to 9.836 million tonnes), Spain (+6% to 5.844 million tonnes) and France (+3.3% to 3.766 million tonnes).
  
  

• Also on the increase in the January-June 2017 period was steel scrap usage for crude steel production in the USA (+1.3% to 23.8 million tonnes), Japan (+9% to 17.85 million tonnes), Turkey (+16% to 14.582 million tonnes) and Russia (+0.6% to 8.069 million tonnes).
  
  

China Ferrous Scrap Export, Jan-Aug 2017

Mainly positive developments in steel scrap imports

• The first half of 2017 brought a 1.6% increase in Turkey's overseas purchases of steel scrap to 9.327 million tonnes, thereby underlining its position as the world's foremost importer. Over the same period, the Republic of Korea was the world's second-largest steel scrap importer (+7.8% to 3.037 million tonnes).
  
  

• In the first six months of 2017, year-on-year import gains were also recorded by the USA (+26.5% to 2.501 million tonnes), China (+31.5% to 1.314 million tonnes), Mexico (+23% to 0.899 million tonnes), Indonesia (+52.5% to 0.723 million tonnes), Thailand (+22.3% to 0.658 million tonnes), Belarus (+24.1% to 0.655 million tonnes), Russia (+75% to 0.308 million tonnes) and Switzerland (+1.1% to 0.268 million tonnes).
  
  

• Conversely, there was a further cut in India's steel scrap imports of 31.8% to 2.575 million tonnes in the first half of 2017, costing the country its position as the world's second-largest importer. Year-on-year import reductions were also recorded by Taiwan (-9.4% to 1.501 million tonnes), the EU-28 (-5.3% to 1.363 million tonnes) and Canada (-45.3% to 0.475 million tonnes).
  
  

Data covering Chinese exports of steel scrap

• Owing to its general market impact, China always attracts particular attention. Besides the strong growth in both its steel scrap usage and imports, there has also been an increase in its steel scrap exports - caused by the country's elimination of its induction furnaces.
  
  

• Customs figures indicate that China shipped out 298,106 tonnes of steel scrap in the first six months of this year; the biggest buyers were Taiwan on 96,398 tonnes, Indonesia on 48,695 tonnes, Hong Kong on 46,781 tonnes, Vietnam on 28,975 tonnes and India on 27,634 tonnes.
  
  

• New custom figures show that China has shipped out 879,663 tonnes from January to August 2017 as compared to 298,106 tonnes from January to June 2017 (an increase of around 195%).
  
  

EU-28 remains the leading steel scrap exporter

Our eight flow charts cover January-June 2017 steel scrap exports from the EU-28, the USA, Japan, Russia, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

• In the first half of 2017, the EU-28 continued in its role as the world's leading steel scrap exporter following an increase in its overseas shipments of 15.8% to 9.961 million tonnes, with the main buyers being Turkey (+19.5% to 5.975 million tonnes), Pakistan (-6.4% to 0.718 million tonnes), the USA (+31.5% to 0.651 million tonnes), Egypt (+118.5% to 0.614 million tonnes), India (-42% to 0.56 million tonnes), Switzerland (+3.8% to 0.27 million tonnes) and China (+14.6% to 0.22 million tonnes).
  
  

• Statistics covering external steel scrap exports for the January-June 2017 period show the dominant position of the UK as the EU-28's biggest steel scrap exporter (+12% to 3.447 million tonnes).
  
  

• The EU-28's internal steel scrap exports totalled 14.515 million tonnes in the first half of 2017 (+7.4% when compared to the same period of 2016).
  
  

• An upturn was also apparent in US overseas steel scrap shipments in this year's first half (+14% to 6.728 million tonnes), with the leading buyers being Turkey (-9.6% to 1.342 million tonnes), Mexico (+30.1% to 0.907 million tonnes), Taiwan (+31.1% to 0.785 million tonnes), China (+97.4% to 0.539 million tonnes), Canada (+19.8% to 0.459 million tonnes), India (-45.7% to 0.367 million tonnes) and Pakistan (+46.7% to 0.333 million tonnes).
  
  

• Meanwhile, increases in overseas shipments were also recorded in the first six months of 2017 by Canada (+26.5% to 2.141 million tonnes), Australia (+24.4% to 0.908 million tonnes) and Singapore (+3% to 0.411 million tonnes).
  
  

• Conversely, there was a decline in Japan's overseas shipments of steel scrap in January-June this year (-16.1% to 4.002 million tonnes) despite a substantial year-on-year increase in its deliveries to the Republic of Korea (+14.2% to 2.014 million tonnes) and to China (+3% to 0.898 million tonnes). There was a slump in purchases by Vietnam (-46.6% to 0.639 million tonnes) and Taiwan (-58.7% to 0.253 million tonnes).
  
  

• Lower overseas scrap shipments were also recorded in the first half of 2017 by Russia (-21.6% to 2.147 million tonnes) and Hong Kong (-2.9% to 0.644 million tonnes).