Japan Stainless Product Export and Import Increase in July

Japanese export of stainless steel products totaled 110,493 tonnes in July, increasing by 27.1% from June, according to Japan Stainless Steel Association. The export exceeded 100,000 tonnes for the first time since October 2008. Demand for stainless steel products is recovering at overseas rather than in Japan. Domestic stainless steel makers are increasing export.

Export of bars and shapes increased by 35% to 11,048 tonnes in July from June, which exceeded 10,000 tonnes for the first time since October 2008. Flat products increased by 31.4% to 84,030 tonnes and tubes increased by 3.4% to 15,054 tonnes.

Among flat products, hot-rolled products increased by 50.8% to 46,305 tonnes and cold-rolled products increased by 16.3% to 37,726 tonnes. More than 45% of flat products were bound for re-rollers in South Korea.

Japanese import of stainless steel products totaled 10,742 tonnes in July, which increased by 18.4% from June and represented month-to-month plus for 2 months in a row. Flat products increased by 21.7% to 8,411 tonnes. Bars and shapes increased by 4.6% to 1,802 tonnes. Tubes increased by 19.4% to 529 tonnes.

Among flat products, hot-rolled products increased by 2.0% to 3,155 tonnes and cold-rolled products increased by 37.8% to 5,256 tonnes. Stainless steel import increased when overseas products were cheaper than domestic products. Cold-rolled product import exceeded 5,000 tonnes for the first time since July 2008.