South Korea: Ferrous scrap imports increase w-o-w; Hyundai & Dongkuk Steel top recipient

This week, steel scrap arrivals into Korea stood at 92,834 tonnes (t), increasing significantly from July's 20,000 t. While this growth is significant, it is important to note that the overall volume remains relatively small.

Hyundai Steel: Hyundai Steel, a prominent player in the steel industry, has reported a notable influx of steel scrap this week. The company brought in a total of 29,525 t of new iron scraps from various ports. Among these, 13,020 t were imported from Incheon, 7,500 t from Pohang, and 9,005 t from Dangjin. This surge in arrivals is significant when compared to the end of July's 9,000 t from the three ports. However, it falls short of the average arrival volume, indicating the company's continuous efforts to maintain steady supply.

Dongkuk Steel: Dongkuk Steel, another major industry player, imported 23,800 t to Incheon and 1,000 t to Dangjin. This represents a considerable increase from the previous week's 9,500 t. Notably, Dongkuk Steel's weekly average of 29,369 t in 2023 indicates that this week's port arrivals align closely with the company's standard performance.

SeAH Besteel and Korea Steel: SeAH Besteel and Korea Steel made their mark on this week's steel scrap import scene. SeAH Besteel brought in 10,000 t of scrap from Gunsan Port, while Korea Steel reported new arrivals of 4,000 t at Masan Port. Notably, no steel scraps entered Busan Port, which remains the main import hub for Daehan Steel and YK Steel.

POSCO: POSCO, a key industry player, reported substantial new arrivals at various ports. The company reported an impressive 24,509 t of steel scrap arrivals in Gwangyang and Pohang. Notably, these arrivals exceed POSCO's average weekly new port arrivals for the year, which stands at 24,417 t. This noteworthy achievement is particularly significant given the recent rarity of new arrivals exceeding 10,000 t for POSCO.

Grade-wise arrivals: Analysing the grades of imported steel scrap reveals interesting trends. The import of shindachi steel scrap has shown a noticeable uptick. A total of 14,029 t of shindachi have reportedly arrived, constituting 15.1% of the overall volume. Additional prominent grades include shredded, accounting for 9.7% with 9,000 t, while HS, HMS, and H2 make up 6.5%, 5.9%, and 10.8%, respectively.

Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelDaily and SteelMint.