Economy

Chinese Iron Ore, Scrap, Flat Rolled Data through April

Written by Brett Linton

May 29, 2018

Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of April 2018, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in April totaled 82,920,000 metric tons, a decrease of 3.3 percent from the previous month, but an increase of 0.8 percent from April 2017. Total iron ore imports for the first four months of 2018 were 353,400,000 metric tons. The same period in 2017 was slightly less at 353,094,000 tons.

April Chinese imports of steel scrap totaled 120,000 metric tons, down 29.4 percent over March, and down 46.7 percent over the same month one year ago. Steel scrap imports into China in the first four months of 2018 totaled 580,000 metric tons, down from 920,000 through the same period in 2017.

Flat rolled imports to China in April were 870,000 metric tons, down 16.3 percent over the previous month, and down 2.6 percent over April 2017 figures. Total 2018 imports year to date were adjusted to 3,820,000 metric tons. The same period in 2017 was 3,810,000 tons.

Chinese exports of flat rolled steel were 3,750,000 metric tons for April, up 14.0 percent from March, and up 1.8 percent from April 2017. China’s total flat rolled exports for 2018 through April were 12,360,000 metric tons, down from 14,850,000 tons through the first four months of 2017. (Source: Bradford Research, Inc. & China Customs Service)

You can view an interactive graphic of the Chinese trade data history on the Steel Market Update website here (sample below). If you need assistance with either logging in or navigating the website, please contact our office at 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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