Scrap generation in East Asia to surpass 450 mnt by 2050

Nippon Steel Research Institute predicts that the total amount of steel scrap generated in the four East Asian countries in 2050 will be 456.8 million tonnes (mnt). That's an increase of 135.7 mnt from 22 years.

The breakdown of the amount generated is as follows:

• China: 385.5 mnt
  
  
• Japan: 34.9 mnt
  
  
• South Korea: 28 mnt
  
  
• Taiwan: 8.5 mnt
  
  

The amount of steel scrap generated was predicted by assuming the apparent consumption of steel and the circulation rate of steel materials. The annual growth rate of apparent steel consumption is assumed to be minus 1% in China, South Korea, and Taiwan, and minus 0.5% in Japan. The annual growth rate of the steel circulation rate was 2.1% in China, 2.0% in Taiwan, 1.2% in South Korea, and 0% in Japan.

Nagoya steel scrap market remains flat

Scrap iron remained flat in Nagoya on Monday. The market price for special grade (H2) is JPY 34,000-35,000/t.

Although some electric furnaces are reducing production in the summer, supply and demand are tightening due to sluggish growth in the market. Crude steel production this month is expected to be significantly lower than the previous month's results. "Even so, there is resilience in the market," a trading company source said.

Most manufacturers will go on summer vacation next month. A further decrease in the number of electric furnaces is expected, and some believe that it will be difficult to relax procurement of electric furnaces. On the other hand, there is still no desire by foreign sources to purchase Japanese raw materials. Hyundai Steel's most recent raw material purchase price was in the range of JPY 47,000/t for H2, which is below the actual price in the region.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.