Japan Carbon Steel Import Rises by 1.3% in 2007

Japanese carbon steel import increased by 1.3% to 3.796 million tonnes in 2007 from 2006, which was the first increase in 2 years, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Wednesday. The flat steel import increased by 5.0% to 3.33 million tonnes when main item of hot rolled sheet import increased by 7.6%. The long products import decreased by 22.8% to 367,000 tonnes. The special steel import increased by 20.5% to 295,000 tonnes. The carbon steel import decreased by 15.0% to 301,000 tonnes in December from a year earlier. The flat steel import decreased by 18.2% to 253,000 tonnes while the long products import increased by 17.2% to 42,000 tonnes.