Japan Carbon Steel Import Rises by 48.7% in February

Japanese carbon steel import increased to 140,182 tonnes by 48.7% in February from a year earlier, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Monday. The import decreased by around 50% in January from a year earlier, too. The import decreased by 23.3% in February from last month, which decreased for 4 consecutive months when users and dealers held off the buying, and adjusted the inventory, and sheet inventory increased due to decreasing demand after autumn. Moreover, H-beam import increased by 2.5 times in February from a year earlier, and wire rod import increased by 2.4 times.

The plate import decreased to 3,697 tonnes by 48.7% in February from a year earlier. The hot rolled flat steel import decreased by 58.2% to 53,516 tonnes. The cold rolled flat steel import decreased to 35,112 tonnes by 57.7%. The zinc coated sheet import decreased to 13,514 tonnes by 49.7%. On the other hand, sheet pile import increased to 1,484 tonnes by 40.0%. H-beam import increased to 8357 tonnes by 2.5 times and wire rod import increased to 15,538 tonnes by 2.4 times.

Special steel import decreased to 12,160 tonnes by 45.6%. Secondary processed steel import decreased to 30,534 tonnes by 27.9%.

The carbon steel import decreased to 87,038 tonnes by 51.3% from South Korea in February from a year earlier, 31,638 tonnes by 54.2% from Taiwan, and 15,404 tonnes by 7.8% from China. The import from South Korea or Taiwan largely decreased when their export market is mainly manufacturing industry such as re-rollers or electric appliance makers. But the import from China slightly decreased when Chinese export market is mainly dealers.