Japan Plate Steel Import Jumps in May

Japanese plate steel import increased by 144.9% to 32,508 tonnes in May from a year earlier, which represents increases for 2 months in a row, according to Ministry of Finance. The buyers try to seek alternative sources under tight domestic supply when the demand increases for shipbuilding and construction machinery. The plate export decreased by 2.5% to 272,803 tonnes, which was first drop in 10 months. The import increased to 3-3.5 times from China and South Korea in May from a year earlier. The averaged import price increased by 42.3% to 103,622 yen per tonne. The export to South Korea, which represents around half of Japanese plate export, decreased by 3.4% in May from a year earlier. The averaged export price increased by 18.1% to 100,041 yen per tonne.