Taiwan’s ferrous scrap imports dipped by 2pc in March 2021 from a year ago to 319,658mt while it grew by 50pc from February amid improving steel demand. Mills imported higher volumes from the US-based suppliers, while shipments from Japan fell in March.
Scrap imports from top supplier US rose by 5pc in March to 134,976mt from a year ago, while it improved by 5pc from February. Imports from Japan fell substantially to 59,639mt, down by 51pc from a year ago and down by 17pc from the prior month.
The disruptions in global trade patterns have led to a shortage of empty containers in scrap export destinations like the US and Europe and vessel space crunch in sea routes to Asia, which delayed shipments by many days.
To address these issues, Taiwanese mills lapped up higher tonnages from the Dominican Republic, Australia, Canada and CIS with imports rising significantly both from the prior year and February levels. Overall, the breakup shows mills sought scrap from varied destinations to keep their raw material prices in check. Most mills relied on domestic scrap to avoid delays in seaborne shipment.
| Taiwan’s ferrous scrap imports in March | |||||
| Country | Mar 2021 | Feb 21 | Change MoM | Mar 2020 | Change YoY |
| United States | 1,34,976 | 76,434 | 77% | 1,28,306 | 5% |
| Japan | 59,639 | 72,106 | -17% | 1,22,796 | -51% |
| Dominican Republic | 15,264 | 9,485 | 61% | 9,633 | 58% |
| Australia | 14,371 | 8,913 | 61% | 10,969 | 31% |
| Canada | 13,593 | 10,735 | 27% | 8,917 | 52% |
| Hong Kong | 11,620 | 6,711 | 73% | 6,924 | 68% |
| Russian Federation | 11,126 | 44 | 25186% | – | 100% |
| Venezuela | 10,430 | 4,681 | 123% | 3,008 | 247% |
| Chile | 5,493 | 2,654 | 107% | 1,456 | 277% |
| Others | 43,146 | 20,956 | 106% | 35,079 | 23% |
| Total | 3,19,658 | 2,12,719 | 50% | 3,27,088 | -2% |