South Korea: Ferrous scrap imports volume declines by 46% m-o-m in May'24

South Korea's ferrous scrap imports in May dropped by 46% to 1,18,076 tonnes (t) from 2,19,757 t in April, 2024 Similarly, on a y-o-y basis imports have dropped by 62% from 3,11,983 t in May, 2023.

For the first five months of this year, total scrap imports reached 8,37,860 t, marking a significant 47% decline from 15,80,649 t imported during the same period in 2023.

Country-wise imports:

Imports from Japan down: Import volumes in South Korea from Japan dropped by 46% in May, 2024 reaching 81,350 t from 1,50,262 t. Meanwhile on a y-o-y basis, imports are down by 65% from 2,34,595 t in May, 2023.

Imports from US drop sharply: Ferrous scrap imports from US are down by 87% from 4,529 t to 34,997 t as compared to April, 2024. On a y-o-y basis ferrous scrap imports have declined by 71% from 15,870 t recorded in May, 2023.

Imports from Russia decline: South Korean major mills imported 25,515 t in May, 2024 which leads a decline by 10% compared to previous month (28,335 t). On a y-o-y basis, imports dropped by 45% from 46,503 t recorded in May, 2023.

Billet exports

South Korea's steel billet export volumes are nearly more than three-fold in May, 2024 as compared to previous month. Meanwhile exports have increased by 23% y-o-y from 53,834 t to 69,944 t in May, 2023 as per data released by Customs. Japan was the largest importer with 108,863 t and China 3,982 t.

Billet imports

South Korea's steel billet import increased by 25% as compared to April, 2024 reaching 116,028 t from 92,455 t. On the other hand, imports have declined by 31% on a y-o-y basis from 167,113 t to 116,028 t.