South Korea: Scrap iron arrivals at major ports exceed 50,000 t, shipments rise w-o-w

• Scrap imports increase across South Korean ports
• Incheon and Gunsan receive highest shipments

SteelDaily: South Korea’s major ports recorded around 52,000 tonnes (t) of imported scrap iron arrivals in the fourth week of June, up from 35,099 t in the lastely recorded. According to SteelDaily, the volume includes shipments that had either arrived or were en route to key ports such as Incheon, Gunsan, Gwangyang, Pohang, and Jinhae.

Some of these vessels were delayed and arrived this week, but the majority are newly arriving shipments scheduled for this week.

Regionally, shipments are concentrated in Incheon and Gunsan. Incheon is set to receive various grades of Japanese scrap, with additional vessels expected to arrive in sequence. At Gunsan Pier, several scrap carriers are already waiting to unload, and over 15,000 t are expected to be received this week.

Port-wise arrivals

• Incheon:Incheon is set to receive around 17,615 t of Japanese-origin scrap.
• Gwangyang: 15,000 t of general scrap is expected, primarily at the POSCO-affiliated wharf.
• Gunsan: Approximately 15,000 t of scrap is expected.
• Jinhae: Smaller volumes of 4,000-5,000 t have been confirmed.

Market update

Domestic scrap generation continues to remain stagnant, pushing distributors and steelmakers to increasingly rely on imports to meet raw material needs.

A market participant remarked, “While port arrivals have increased slightly in recent days, weak product demand means the overall market remains sluggish. For now, it appears to be only a temporary easing of the supply shortage”.

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