Japan Carbon Steel Export Drops by 37.2% in January

Japanese carbon steel export decreased by 37.2% to 1.327 million tonnes in January from a year earlier, which represented year-on-year mines for 4 months in a row, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Tuesday. The export decreased by 25.6% from previous month. The export decreased by 32.5% to 300,000 tonnes for special steels year-on-year, by 24.1% to 317,000 tonnes for semi-finished steels and by 43.4% to 29,000 tonnes for secondary processed steels.

The total export decreased by 34.4% to 2.003 million tonnes in January from a year earlier, which showed year-on-year minus for 4 consecutive months and hit the bottom since 1.727 million tonnes in January 2001. The export value shrank to US$ 2.819 billion, the first minus in 32 months.

Hot rolled wide strip decreased by 56.6% to 254,000 tonnes year-on-year, which showed year-on-year minus for 4 straight months. Zinc coated steel sheet decreased by 39% to 245,000 tonnes as well as decline of cold rolled wide strip by 51.7% to 125,000 tonnes, magnetic steel sheet by 34.7% to 48,000 tonnes, shaped steel by 53% to 47,000 tonnes, steel bar by 54.2% to 23,000 tonnes and wire rod by 46.5% to 18,000 tonnes.

On the other hand, plate steel export increased by 2.7% to 264,000 tonnes from a year earlier, which represented year-on-year plus for 4 straight months. Seamless steel tube also increased by 7.3% to 66,000 tonnes, rebounding after 2 months.

The total steel export decreased by 25.6% to 579,000 tonnes for South Korea, down for 4 consecutive months. The export to China shrank by 35% to 352,000 tonnes, down for 3 months. The export dropped by 52.7% to 184,000 tonnes for Thailand, down for 3 months. The export decreased by 45.1% to 161,000 tonnes for Taiwan, down for 6 months. Meanwhile, the export increased by 19.5% to 128,000 tonnes for USA, rebounding after 3 months.