Customs statistics showed that Taiwan's stainless steel scrap imports in November totaled 16,000 tons, an increase of 19.1% compared to the previous month. Exports surged by 115% month on month to 7,700 tons.

In the first 11 months of this year, Taiwan imported around 200,000 tons of stainless steel scrap, a year-on-year decrease of 22.2%. Exports were 61,700 tons, up by 28.3% year on year.

The decrease in imports was mainly due to a significant growth in imports of base materials such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel and wire rods, as well as steel mills lowering their procurement to reduce costs.

Among imports in November, the source from the US accounted for the largest share, totaling around 5,200 tons, followed by Japan’s 4,200 tons. The average price from US imports was around NT$3,600/ton higher than Japan’s. In terms of exports, the delivery to South Korea was the largest, with a total of 6,500 tons.