South Korea: Ferrous scrap imports fall to lowest this year amid low rebar production

• Import volumes plunge with drop in steel demand
• Producers increasingly favouring domestic scrap

SteelDaily: South Korea’s major ports reported that 28,004 tonnes (t) of steel scrap had arrived this week and were ready to be unloaded, marking a decrease of 14,646 t from the previous week.

Overall, the weekly import volume dropped to its lowest level this year, with a significant decrease in demand from steel manufacturers. Rebar production has dropped to below 20,000 t this week, which has considerably reduced buying interest from EAF mills.

Manufacturers are increasingly favouring domestic steel scrap due to a decline in steel factory operations linked to a weak domestic market. From January to August this year, the self-sufficiency rate of steel scrap was 91%, a notable rise from previous years.

Notably, special steel plates made up nearly half of the imports at 48%.

Company-wise arrivals

• Hyundai Steel – 2,000 t of steel scrap had arrived at Dangjin and 3,004 t at Pohang.
• Dongkuk Steel – 3,000 t of steel scrap at Incheon and 2,000 t at Masan.
• SeAH Besteel – 8,000 t of special steel sheet imports at Gunsan Port.
• Daehan Steel – 4,500 t of scrap arrivals at Busan.
• POSCO – Total import volumes of 2,000 t at Pohang and 3,500 t at Gwangyang.

Note: This article has been published in accordance with a content exchange agreement between SteelDaily and BigMint.