For January-June 2020, total steel scrap use in the key countries and regions covered by Bureau of International Recycling Ferrous Division was 209.834 million tonnes, a 10.5% decrease from the 243.536 million tonnes for the same period of 2019. All the countries and regions recorded a year-on-year downtrend.
In the first six months of 2020, there was a 7.3% drop in China’s steel scrap usage for crude steel production to 93.75 million tonnes, as compared to 101.13 million tonnes for the same period in 2019. However, Chinese steel scrap consumption of 52.22 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2020 was 25.7% higher than the 41.53 million tonnes consumed in the first quarter. These figures confirm that China remained the world’s largest steel scrap user during the period under review.
Also in the first half of 2020, steel scrap usage for crude steel production dropped in the EU-28 by13.3% to 39.812 million tonnes, the USA by 18.9% to 20.2 million tonnes, Russia by 7.3% to 14.551 million tonnes, Japan by 19.8% to 14.294 million tonnes and the Republic of Korea by 8.3% to 13.569 million tonnes).
Meanwhile, Turkey reported a steel scrap usage decrease of 4.3% to 13.658 million tonnes, with the reduction in scrap-intensive electric furnace production of minus 4.3% to 11.419 million tonnes, being slightly more pronounced than the drop in the country’s crude steel production of minus 4.1%. The first six months of 2020 brought a 7.8% year-on-year upturn in Turkey’s overseas steel scrap purchases to 9.009 million tonnes, confirming the country’s position as the world’s foremost steel scrap importer.
Conversely, a steep drop in overseas purchases was recorded by the Republic of Korea, the world’s third-largest steel scrap importer of 33.5% to 2.414 million tonnes. Declines were also reported by the USA of 12.7% to 1.982 million tonnes, the EU-28 by 9% to 1.367 million tonnes and Russia by 59.7% to 0.211 million tonnes. Data for India, the second-largest steel scrap importer, Pakistan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico and Belarus are not available at the time of writing.
The first half of 2020 brought a 10.7% decline in the EU-28’s overseas shipments to 9.776 million tonnes but it nevertheless remained the world’s leading steel scrap exporter during the period under review. The first six months of 2020 also brought a fall in US overseas steel scrap exports of 2.3% to 8.401 million tonnes. Russia’s overseas steel scrap shipments were also lower during the same period by 7% to 2.172 million tonnes. In contrast, Japan’s overseas shipments of steel scrap soared 38.2% to 4.884 million tonnes in the first half of 2020.
Source: STEELGURU
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