Japan Annual Steel Export Increases by 4.6% in 2008

Japanese annual steel export increased by 4.6% to 38.543 million tonnes in 2008 over the previous year, according to Japan Iron & Steel Association. The export increased for 3 consecutive years and hit the record high since 37.035 million tonnes in 1976. The export value also hit the record at US$ 46.436 billion or 4841.5 billion yen in 2008.

The export increased by 4.9% to 26.429 million tonnes for carbon steel in 2008 from 2007 and by 9.25% to 6.323 million tonnes for special steel. The export decreased by 1.5% to 4.717 million tonnes for semi-finished steel. The export kept flat at 698,000 tonnes for secondary processed steel.

The export decreased by 3.2% to 9.282 million tonnes for South Korea, which represented the first minus in 3 years. The export increased by 6.9% to 6.778 million tonnes for China, by 7.5% to 4.625 million tonnes for Thailand and by 2.9% to 3.703 million tonnes for Taiwan.

Japanese carbon steel export decreased by 24.5% to 1.784 million tonnes in December from a year earlier, decreasing for 3 consecutive months. The export for South Korea decreased for 3 straight months while that for China declined for 2 consecutive months. The export decreased by 27.8% to 392,000 tonnes for special steel, by 16.2% to 384,000 tonnes for semi-finished steel and by 29.3% to 45,000 tonnes for secondary processed products.

The export decreased by 34.7% to 595,000 tonnes for South Korea in December from a year earlier, decreasing for 3 months in a row. The export for China decreased by 17.4% to 441,000 tonnes, down for 2 straight months. The export for Thailand decreased by 14.3% to 323,000 tonnes, decreasing for 2 months. The export for Taiwan decreased by 25.7% to 241,000 tonnes and that for USA decreased by 21.3% to 110,000 tonnes, which decreased for 2 months.