Japan Steel Wire Products Import Keeps High

Japanese import of carbon steel wire products including iron wire, nail and metallic mesh was 48,500 tonnes in April-August. The volume is still high though the number was 8.4% lower than same period of 2005 when the import surged to more than 100,000 tonnes in fiscal 2005 ending March 2006. The import in fiscal 2006 could exceed the level in fiscal 2003 and 2004. The import was 8,700-12,200 tonnes or averaged 9,700 tonnes per month in April-August. The products were from mainly China and South Korea along with Taiwan and South Africa. The import increased by 13% to 20,300 tonnes for nail, by 9.8% to 8,000 tonnes for iron wire and by 8.7% to 3,100 tonnes for metallic mesh in April-August from same period of 2005. The galvanized iron wire import decreased by 32% to 15,200 tonnes. The large potion of the nail import was from China. A distributor source said nail is the most import sensitive product in those processed steel products. The users tend to use cheaper imports for large volume consumption and low technology applications including joint of concrete wood form in construction working.