Posted on 01 Feb 2024
Japan’s iron and steel exports fell in December while imports rose. Full year 2023 imports and exports both rose marginally year-on-year, according to statistics from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
December exports of Japanese iron and steel products decreased 0.9% month-on-month and 4.2% y-o-y to over 2.56 million tonnes. This took annual exports to 32.69mt, a y-o-y gain of just 1.2%, Kallanish notes.
The products which drove growth are pig iron, ingots, rails, sheet pilings, heavy plate, HR wide strip, CR sheet, galvanized sheet and seamless pipes and tubes.
In terms of imports, December and annual volumes rose 1% and 1.6% y-o-y to 623,691t and 7.57mt respectively. Like the export market, several products also saw annual growth in this market, including rails, sheet pilings, heavy plate, HR wide strip and galvanized sheet.
By country, all major regions other than South Korea reduced their purchases of Japanese steel in 2023 compared with 2022. Meanwhile, the top three suppliers pushed up their shipments to Japan (see table).
Source:Kallanish
