Japan Carbon Steel Import Drops by 28.8% in August

Japanese carbon steel import decreased by 28.8% to 217,663 tonnes in August from a year earlier, while increased by 1.9% from last month and exceeded 200,000 tonnes for 2 consecutive months. Japanese concerns suppose the import would increase when yen exchange rate is rising and China shows a strong stance for steel export because Chinese steel output and inventory are extraordinary built up.

The import of wire rod increased by 3.2 times to 24,664 tonnes in August from a year earlier, while the import of other products decreased. The import decreased by 47.7% to 4,903 tonnes for H-beam, by 26.7% to 883 tonnes for steel bar, by 41.9% to 13,633 tonnes for plate, by 37.8% to 87,500 tonnes for hot rolled sheet, by 34.8% to 50,293 tonnes for cold rolled sheet and by 23.3% to 23,612 tonnes for galvanizing steel sheet.

On the other hand, the import increased by 2.4 times for plate in August from July, by 32.4% for H-beam, and by 7.0% for galvanizing sheet.

Japanese special steel import decreased by 4.2% to 16,747 tonnes in August from a year earlier. The import of secondary processed products decreased by 8.0% to 41,604 tonnes.

Japanese steel import decreased by 28.8% to 126,480 tonnes from South Korea in August from a year earlier, by 33.7% to 38,964 tonnes from China, and by 13.3% to 46,518 tonnes from Taiwan.