Taiwanese steelmakers significantly reduced ferrous scrap imports in the first half of 2025 due to lower steel production and a growing reliance on imported billet and domestic scrap.
- Taiwan imported 951,000t of ferrous scrap in January-June, marking a 41pc decline compared with the same period in 2024, according to Taiwanese customs data.
- The US remained Taiwan's largest scrap supplier, and its export volume to Taiwan posted the smallest year-on-year decline among major suppliers. Imports from the US dropped by 34pc to 452,000t in the first half of the year.
- Imports from Japan fell by 36pc on the year to 243,000t. Taiwanese mills showed less interest in Japanese H1/H2 50:50 scrap, only entering the market when prices became more favourable compared with containerised scrap.
- Many mills shifted toward billet imports because scrap prices were less competitive. Imports of semi-finished products remained largely stable at 1.73mn t in the first half of the year. Billet shipments from Russia declined, but imports from Japan, China and Vietnam increased, gaining market share, according to customs data.
- Scrap demand in Taiwan is expected to remain subdued in July-September because mills typically scale back production during the summer electricity restriction period and given weak rebar demand on the back of hot weather. Argus assessed Feng Hsin Steel's rebar price at NT$15,600/t on 14 July, the lowest since November 2020.
| Taiwan's ferrous scrap imports | t | ||||
| Country | June | % ± vs May | % ± vs June '24 | Jan-Jun | % ± on year |
| United States | 117,776 | 60.4 | 14.3 | 452,031 | -33.9 |
| Japan | 20,122 | -9.9 | -71.7 | 243,033 | -36.4 |
| Dominican Republic | 5,781 | 16.6 | -63.5 | 47,191 | -50.8 |
| Australia | 4,641 | -55.2 | -38.1 | 33,043 | -47.5 |
| Others | 31,941 | -2.6 | -50.2 | 176,172 | -53.1 |
| Total | 180,261 | 25.3 | -31.1 | 951,470 | -40.6 |
| — Taiwan customs | |||||
