South Korea's construction slump hits Japanese scrap exporters

The ongoing slump in construction in South Korea and the impact this is having on demand for construction steel including rebar is causing a parallel decline in exports of ferrous scrap from Japan for Korean mini-mills. During April, the export volume fell to just 73,000 tonnes, lower by a huge 49% compared with April last year and marking a 16-year low, according to Japanese Customs data.

For decades, South Korea had been the largest recipient of Japanese scrap but in recent years, the volume has declined as Korea has become more self-sufficient in scrap and as countries such as Vietnam – and more recently, Bangladesh – became more important targets for Japanese scrap exporters. In