Malaysia June ferrous scrap imports hit highest level in 2016

17 October 2016

The latest statistics released by the Malaysian Department of Statistics indicate that the country’s ferrous scrap imports increased sharply in June ’16, in comparison with the previous month. The imports during the month touched the highest level so far this year. However, cumulative scrap imports by the country during the half-yearly period were down significantly by over 61% when matched with the corresponding six-month period in 2015.

Malaysia imported 30,193 tons of scrap steel during the month of June this year. The imports were up by 5.2% when matched with the previous month. The country had imported 28,711 tons of scrap steel during May 2016. However, monthly volume touched the highest level of 2016, providing early indications of sustained recovery in scrap import volumes.

The biggest exporter of ferrous scrap to Malaysia during June this year was Singapore. The imports from Singapore totaled 13,065 tons, accounting for more than 43% of the total scrap imports by Malaysia during the month. The imports from the country witnessed 6% rise from May ’16. The US was the second largest exporter during the month, with 8,670 tons. The ferrous scrap imports from the US surged higher by 42% over the previous month. In third place was Australia with 2,949 tons. The other key exporters of ferrous scrap to Malaysia during the month were Japan (2,270 tons), the UK (1,002 tons), Thailand (823 tons), New Zealand (494 tons) and Papua New Guinea (356 tons).

The country imported 123,158 tons of scrap steel during the initial six-month period of the year. The imports were down considerably by 61.4% when compared with the net import volume of 318,750 tons during the period from January to June in 2015. The monthly imports averaged at 21,000 tons so far this year. At the current rate, the country’s scrap steel exports are estimated to total around 250,000 tons during the entire year 2016.

Source – Metals