South Korea: Ferrous scrap imports rise by 8% m-o-m in Jul'24

South Korea's ferrous scrap imports totalled 166,372 tonnes (t) in July 2024, representing an increase of 8% compared to 154,740 t in June. However, annually scrap imports registered a significant drop of around 48%, compared to 318,994 t reported in July 2023. In the first seven months (January-July) of current calendar year, ferrous scrap imports aggregated to 1.16 million tonnes (mnt), marking a sizeable drop of 50% y-o-y in comparison with 2.31 mt in the same months of the previous year.

Country-wise break-up:

Imports from Japan rise: Ferrous scrap imports from Japan to South Korea stood approximately at 128,726 t in July, up by 13% m-o-m compared to 113,808 t a month ago. However, on a y-o-y basis, exports saw a decrease of 49% from 252,116 t recorded in July 2023. From January-July, scrap imports from Japan totalled to 0.89 mnt, a 48% y-o-y decrease from 1.73 mnt during the same period in 2023.

Imports from Russia drop: Ferrous scrap imports from Russia to South Korea stood at 25,852 t in July, marking a decrease of 12% m-o-m compared to 5,349 t in June. However, on a y-o-y basis, imports registered a three-fold surge compared to the a mere 8,948 t seen in July 2023. From January-July 2024, South Korea's ferrous scrap imports from Russia were at 146,554 t, a 23% y-o-y decrease from 189,189 t during the same period in 2023.

Imports from USA rise: Ferrous scrap imports from the US to South Korea stood at 6,400 t in July, marking an increase of 20% m-o-m compared to 5,349 t in June. However, on a y-o-y basis, import volumes registered a whopping decline of over 80% compared to the 43,939 t seen in July 2023. From January-July 2024, South Korea's ferrous scrap imports from the US were at 72,568 t, a 72% y-o-y decrease from 257,512 t during the same period in 2023.

Billet exports, imports

South Korea's billet exports stood at 79,016 t in July, rising significantly by 216% m-o-m compared to 25,016 t in June, 2023. Similarly, on an annualised basis, billet exports increased significantly by 214% from 25,183 t in July 2023. From January-July 2024, billet exports rose by 17% y-o-y to 285,437 t, up from 244,378 t in January-July, 2023.

South Korea's steel billet imports jumped by 50% m-o-m to 89,666 t in July as against 59,920 t in the previous month. In contrast, on a y-o-y basis, imports decreased by 15% compared to 105,315 t in the same month of the previous year. Meanwhile, from January-July 2024, billet imports decreased by 7% y-o-y to 780,103 t, down from 834,409 t in January-July, 2023.