News Room - SEAISI Articles

ASEAN is a net importer of semi-finished steel. Net import volume of semi-finished steel registered 6 million tonnes in 2011. Import surged significantly from 5.2 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2011 to 7 million tonnes in the same period of 2012, an increase of 35% y-o-y. Meanwhile, export declined significantly by 27% y-o-y to 560,000 tonnes in the first nine months of 2012. Major importers in the region were Indonesia and Thailand.

As for section, import of the product declined by 10% y-o-y to 218,000 tonnes in the first nine months of 2012. Import of bar and wire rod, on the other hand, increased by 38% and 17% y-o-y to 155,000 tonnes and 408,000 tonnes, respectively. Export volume of the three products was not significant.
The region is also a net importer of flat products. Import of hot rolled coil surged by 9% y-o-y to 2.8 million tonnes from January to September 2012. Export declined by half to 124,000 tonnes in the same period of 2012. Singapore, as a re-exporter, registered a significant export volume of 80,000 tonnes of the products in the first nine months of 2012.  

Cold rolled coil import in the region was 3.6 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2012, a decline of 5% y-o-y. Export dipped substantially by 19% y-o-y to 652,000 tonnes in the same period.

Import of hot dipped galvanized sheet increased significantly to reach nearly 2 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2012 while export stagnated at 107,000 tonnes in the same period. Net import, therefore, was 1.9 million tonnes, an increase of 18% y-o-y. Import into Thailand was the highest in the region, at 1.2 million tonnes.

Import of electro-galvanized sheet in the region declined by 13% y-o-y to 472,000 tonnes in the first nine months of 2012. Export showed a slight decrease of 2% to 100,000 tonnes. Import of tinplates and tin free steel in the region declined by 10% y-o-y to 454,000 tonnes and 124,000 tonnes, respectively in the first nine months of 2012. Export of tinplates and tin free steel also declined, resulting in total net import volume of 358,000 tonnes and 115,000 tonnes, respectively.

Import of Zn-Al sheet increased by 17% y-o-y to 435,000 tonnes in the first nine months of 2012. This was the result of a huge increase of import in Indonesia, by 50% to 178,000 tonnes in the same period of 2012. Export rose by 23% y-o-y to 123,000 tonnes, most of which was from Vietnam.

Import of color coated sheet registered 546,000 tonnes, an increase of 8% y-o-y in the period January to September 2012. Export surged by 13% y-o-y to 113,000 tonnes. On the other hand, other coated sheet import and export dropped by 21% and 5% y-o-y to 168,000 tonnes and 21,000 tonnes, respectively.

Import of seamless pipes in the region rose by 18% y-o-y to 1.5 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2012. Import in Indonesia rose significantly by 31% y-o-y to 552,000 tonnes, followed by Singapore, at 504,000 tonnes, an increase of 41% y-o-y. Export rose significantly by 21% y-o-y to 658,000 tonnes, most of which were contributed by the exports from Indonesia and Singapore.

Welded pipe’s import increased moderately by 4% y-o-y to 1.5 million tonnes while export surged robustly by 36% y-o-y to 1.2 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2012. Import of welded pipe by Malaysia registered the highest volume in the region, at 397,000 tonnes, an increase of 27% y-o-y while its export of the same product stood at 574,000 tonnes, an increase of 46% y-o-y.

ASEAN still relies heavily on the import of ferrous scrap and the import volume in the first nine months of 2012 increased by 6% y-o-y to 5.5 million tonnes. Export declined from 1.4 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2011 to 1.2 million tonnes in the same period of 2012. The only two net exporting countries in the region were Philippines and Singapore. Export from Philippines declined substantially by half to 190,000 tonnes (estimated). However, export of scrap from Singapore surged by 36% y-o-y to 577,000 tonnes.