In the January-September period of this year, China’s total steel scrap consumption amounted to 60.6 million mt, down 12.3 million mt or 17.87 percent year on year, according to the figures released by the China Association of Metal Scrap Utilization (CAMU). China’s total scrap consumption in the given period thus indicated its first decline since 2000.
In particular, in the given period 27.8 million mt of the scrap consumed was collected by Chinese steelmakers themselves, accounting for 45.8 percent of total consumption, while 30.1 million mt was purchased by domestic steelmakers from scrap traders in the local market, constituting 49.7 percent of the total and down 29.34 percent year on year. Meanwhile, in the first nine months China imported 3.896 million mt of scrap, down 18.38 percent compared to the same period of last year.