Japan Carbon Steel Export Rises by 13% in 1H

Japanese carbon steel export increased by 13.0% to 13.809 million tonnes in January-June from same period of 2007, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Friday. The export increased by 5.3% to 3.028 million tonnes for special steel, by 9.2% to 2.51 million tonnes for semi-finished steel and by 7.5% to 362,905 tonnes for processed steel. The total steel export including pig iron and ferroalloy increased by 11.1% to 20.027 million tonnes. The export of many carbon steel products increased for the first half year from same period of 2007 while the export decreased by 8.5% to 18,799 tonnes for cold rolled flat steel sheet and by 6.2% to 32,852 tonnes for cold rolled narrow strip. The export increased by 89.0% to 431,870 tonnes for steel bar, by 38.3% to 111,524 tonnes for sheet pile and by 40.6% to 675,563 tonnes for shapes. The export increased by 14.1% to 3.765 million tonnes for hot rolled wide strip, by 8.2% to 1.628 million tonnes for cold rolled wide strip and by 6.0% to 2.696 million tonnes for galvanizing steel. The carbon steel export increased by 14.2% to 3.368 million tonnes for South Korea in the first half from same period of 2007. The export increased by 10.5% to 2.548 million tonnes for China, by 18.8% to 631,478 tonnes for Taiwan and by 5.9% to 1.737 million tonnes for Thailand. The carbon steel export increased by 6.0% to 2.216 million tonnes in June from a year earlier, which increased for 7 months in a row. The export keeps growing due to firm demand for manufacturers and energy industry.