Japan Carbon Steel Import Increases by 6.2% in January

Japanese carbon steel import increased by 6.2% to 320,077 tonnes in January from December, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Friday. The import decreased in December for the first time in 3 months. However, Japanese dealers and users try to import low-priced products under yen appreciation when Japanese steel makers aim to increase selling price due to higher material cost. The import would increase more from the level in January.

Japanese carbon steel import increased to 2.1 times at 7,286 tonnes for H-beam in January from December. The import increased by 0.1% to 3,277 tonnes for bar and to 2.2 times at 18,759 tonnes for wire rod while the import decreased by 2.3% to 135,707 tonnes for hot rolled flat steel. The import increased by 16.7% to 73,196 tonnes for cold rolled flat steel, by 32.2% to 2,462 tonnes for electrical steel and by 11.2% to 41,357 tonnes for galvanized steel. The plate import increased by 2.0% to 22,500 tonnes.

The import from South Korea increased by 14.9% to 223,946 tonnes in January from December. The import from China increased by 28.0% to 31,699 tonnes while the import from Taiwan decreased by 15.8% to 56,083 tonnes.

The import from South Korea increased by 29.6% in January from a year earlier, which increased for 15 straight months due to lower won rate. The import is increasing not only for dealers, but also for contract users.