Japanese Steel Plate Export Increases, Import Drops in 2009

Japanese annual export of steel plate increased by 2.9% to 3.548 million tonnes in 2009 from 2008, according to Ministry of Finance. The export increased by 4.3% to 1.899 million tonnes for South Korea while decreased by 2.6% to 775,700 tonnes for China. The monthly export volume declined in the first 6 months but stayed above 300,000 tonnes after July. A positive factor was that South Korean shipbuilders, the main offshore consumers of Japanese steel plate, kept high operations with order backlogs.

Japanese steel plate import totaled 133,900 tonnes through 2009, decreasing by 41% from 2008. Steel plate demand significantly shrank in Japan in 2009. The import decreased by 8.9% to 70,100 tonnes from South Korea while increased by 29.6% to 17,300 tonnes from Taiwan.

In December 2009, steel plate export increased by 0.5% to 351,800 tonnes from a year earlier. The export decreased by 5.2% to 197,700 tonnes for South Korea and lowered by 11.4% to 60,800 tonnes for China. The monthly import was 8,100 tonnes, minus by 32.6% from a year earlier. The import increased by 97.4% to 5,600 tonnes from South Korea and upped by 8% to 1,500 tonnes from Taiwan.