Imports of paper, PET and ABS into China were all down in September, but copper and aluminium increased.
Scrap copper imports into the country were up to 420,000 tonnes in September compared to 380,000 tonnes in August. This is 6.7 per cent higher than a year ago. It also represents a value of over $1.5 billion (£955 million), which is 35.9 per cent up on September last year.
Scrap aluminium imports increased to 220,000 tonnes in September up from 200,000 in August. This is down 11.5 per cent on last year. The total value of aluminium imported into China last month was $394.5 million (£251 million) up 1.9 per cent on September last year.
Paper and paperboard imports showed a dramatic decline dropping to 270,000 tonnes in September from 290,000 tonnes in August. From April to July, China imported 300,000 tonnes each month with the exception of May which was 310,000 tonnes. The September tonnage however was only down 0.6 per cent on last year’s September figure. The value of paper imports was $351 million (£224 million) which was 13.2 per cent higher than in the same period a year ago.
Imports of PET chips or slices were down to 20,177 tonnes compared to 24,415 tonnes in August. This was still higher than the range seen in April to July of between 14,400 and 15,000 tonnes. However, it was down 21.7 per cent on September last year. The value of this was $35 million (£22 million) up 1.8 per cent compared to last year.
ABS copolymers slumped to 147,118 tonnes in September from 160,565 tonnes a month earlier. This was down 13 per cent on last year. The value of this was $339 million (£216 million) up 2.2 per cent on September a year ago.
