Vietnam ended 2025 with 16.09 million tons of steel imports, a year-on-year decrease of 9.2%. In contrast, scrap imports rose by 27.2% to reach 6.25 million tons.

Although overall steel demand cooled, statistics in December showed a late activity spike, with monthly steel and scrap volumes increasing by roughly 20% and 59% respectively.

China, Japan, and South Korea remained the top three steel suppliers for 2025, even as Chinese volumes dropped significantly by 23%.

In the scrap market, Japan, the US, and Hong Kong were the primary sources. Among them, scrap shipments from the US grew by 56% throughout 2025, reaching 788,100 tons.