Posted on 16 Jul 2024
Indian hot rolled coil imports rose 42.95% month-on-month to 208,469 tonnes in June, according to customs data accessed by Kallanish. This is a reversal from the previous four months of sequential decline.
In May, HRC imports fell by 4.1% on-month to 145,834t (see Kallanish passim).
India continued to be a net importer in June, as Indian HRC exports slumped 25.6% month-on-month to 48,719t (see Kallanish passim).
This data includes HS codes with a heading of 7208. The most traded codes are 720837, 720838 and 720839. These include HR carbon steel coil and sheets having thickness of 10mm and over 600mm wide, and HRC coils and sheets, excluding stainless products.
All of the imports arrived from Asia. Japan and South Korea were the top two suppliers for the fifth consecutive month. Japan was the largest supplier and South Korea was the second-largest in June. In the prior month, South Korea held top spot, while Japan was second.
Japan-origin HRC imports stood at 139,363t, up by 94.6% m-o-m. AMNS India was the largest importing mill, receiving 59,909t of HRC in June, up by 165.1% m-o-m. AMNS Khopoli was the second-largest, receiving 30,447t, up 52.9%. Both AMNS India and AMNS Khopoli received product from Nippon Steel Trading.
Other importers included K AmishKumar Trading Private Ltd, which received 28,035t of HRC, and Jindal India Ltd receiving 20,347t. They received product mainly from Mitsui and Co. and JFE Shoji Corporation, respectively.
Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru (JNPT) and Mundra in the western region, and Kolkata in the eastern region were the main Indian ports for these shipments. Chiba, Fukuyama, Kashima, Oita, Yokohama and Tokyo were the main Japanese ports used.
South Korea supplied 63,168t, down by 24% m-o-m. Posco Maharashtra was the biggest importer from South Korea for the third consecutive month. It received 52,942t of HRC in June, down by 34.95% m-o-m. Posco was the supplier. Other major importers included RK Steel Manufacturing, which imported 4,939t of HRC from GS Global Corporation. Wheels India received 2,768t of product from Hyundai Corporation.
Mumbai and Mundra in the western region and Chennai in the southern region were the main Indian ports. Dangjin, Kwangyang, Gwangmyeong and Pohang were the main South Korean ports for shipments.
China was the third-largest country from which India imported HRC in June. It supplied 5,937t, down by 56.3% m-o-m. K AmishKumar Trading Private Ltd was the largest importer from China, importing 5,272t. Honors Commodity Hong Kong was the main supplier.
Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the western region, and Chennai in the southern region were the main Indian ports. Bayuquan, Tianjin, and Qingdao were the main Chinese ports used for shipments.
June's HRC import rise comes amid domestic players' increasing concern over rising imports. Earlier this month, India’s steel and trade ministries were reported to be in a discussion on a solution to rising imports, especially low-priced product arriving from China (see Kallanish passim). However, sources noted it was too early to say if the government would take any action.
According to Global Trade Tracker and Cybex data, India’s July 2023 to June 2024 HRC imports were at 3.21 million tonnes. This is a rise of 47.8% from 2.17mt in the year-ago period.
Source:Kallanish
