According to Taiwan customs data, the import amount in December was recorded as 244,475 tons and the net import amount in 2023 reached 3.42 million tons. Market analysts stated that the positive trend in the construction sector may have supported Taiwan's demand for ferrous steel and scrap.
Imports from Japan increased by 61.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 966,589 tons. The favorable exchange rate between the US dollar and the yen has led Taiwanese steel producers to seek dollar-denominated scrap metal from Japan. This was especially effective in November, when the yen fell below ¥150 against the dollar.
"November was a great month for scrap buyers," said one trader. "Rising scrap collection costs and weak supply have caused many US containerized scrap suppliers to keep their bid prices at high levels, narrowing the gap between US and Japanese scrap. Once this gap is around $5/ton, the switch option is obvious." he stated.
The US remained Taiwan's largest supplier of ferrous scrap at 1.3 million tonnes in 2023, but supplied 90,349 tonnes in December, down 18% from a year earlier and recording the lowest monthly import volume since January 2023 .
Other major countries that exported ferrous scrap to Taiwan last year include Australia and the Dominican Republic, with 199,008 tonnes and 236,534 tonnes respectively; this accounted for 5.8% and 6.9% of Taiwan's intake.
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