Japan Steel Sheet Import in Decrease Trend

Japanese steel sheet import decreased by 17.5% or 47,938 tonnes to 226,264 tonnes in September from August, according to Ministry of Finance. The import decreased by 15.4% for hot-rolled sheet, by 19% for cold-rolled sheet and by 21.9% for galvanized sheet. The import decreased by 7.5% for hot-rolled sheet in January-September 2006 from the same period of 2005, by 29.8% for cold-rolled sheet while increased by 2.6% for galvanized sheet.Market source said Japanese steel sheet import is in decreasing trend as a whole while galvanized sheet import increased because the supply is tightening in domestic market due to the increasing shipment for automobile.The import decreased by 15.4% to 119,321 tonnes for hot-rolled steel sheet in September from the previous month, by 19% to 79,835 tonnes for cold-rolled sheet and by 21.9% to 27,108 tonnes for galvanized sheet. The import decreased by 18.6% to 138,857 tonnes from South Korea, by 25.1% to 69,821 tonnes from Taiwan while increased by 95.2% to 15,270 tonnes from China.