Japan H-Beam Import Hits 14-Year High in 2005

Japanese H-beam import increased by 55% to 152,770 tonnes in 2005 from 2004, representing increases for 3 years in a row, according to Ministry of Finance. The import exceeded 100,000 tonnes for the first time since 1991 when the import was 124,546 tonnes. The import value was 8.988 billion yen in 2005. The averaged value was 57,525 yen per tonne, which was much lower than domestic market price at 75,000 yen. South Korea was the no.1 source at 130,998 tonnes, which represented 92% of the total import. The import from China doubled to 10,220 tonnes from 2004. The import increased by 130% to 19,254 tonnes in December from a year earlier. The sources were Korea, China and USA.