Japan H-beam Import Increases around 13 times in April

Japanese H-beam import increased to around 13 times at 8,094 tonnes in April from March, according to Ministry of Finance. The averaged price decreased by 38.3% to CIF 67,300 yen per tonne. The users in Japan seemed to increase the import of low-priced H-beam while the domestic makers increased the price to around 80,000 yen per tonne for base size.

The import from South Korea increased to around 48 times at 5,855 tonnes in April from March. The H-beam arrival from South Korea was 3,270 tonnes on Sakai Branch Customs and 2,584 tonnes on Chiba Branch Customs. The import from China increased to more than 4.4 times at 2,234 tonnes.

Japanese H-beam export decreased by 61.3% to 22,848 tonnes in April from March while the averaged export price increased by 7.6% to FOB 60,100 yen per tonne. The export volume and price seem to decline for the shipment after June when the overseas H-beam market price turned into adjustment.