Japan's carbon steel exports dip 2nd month in Feb'22

For February, Japan's exports of carbon steel finished products declined for the second month by another 2.2%on year to about 1.68 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on March 31. A JISF official attributed the lower export volume partially to integrated mills' reduced capacity amid their restructuring process.

Nevertheless, Japan's export volume of carbon steel finished products was 6.1% higher on month due to more business days in February compared with January. The JISF data showed that Japan's carbon steel exports over January-February totaled 3.26 million tonnes, down 3.1% on year.

Among all, hot-rolled coil (HRC) - the major export item for Japanese steelmakers - declined by 1.1% on month, with the largest HRC buyer - South Korea purchasing 137,087 tonnes, up 91.4% on year and 37.8% higher on month, while those to Thailand, the second-largest buyer at 126,982 tonnes, down 31.8% on year but up 30.3% on month.

The JISF official explained that the on-year rise in Japan's HRC exports to South Korea might be due to the low base a year ago, and that the on-year decline in exports to Thailand had to do with the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. "But of course, there were also some other factors that led to the decline," he added.

Meanwhile, Japan's plate exports in February rose for the 11th consecutive month to 224,330 tonnes, 1.3% higher on month and up 35.1% on year. Within the total, 86,206 tonnes were exported to South Korea, up 273.7% on year but down 8.5% on month, according to the data.

A Tokyo-based trader contributed the rise in plate exports mainly to active demand from shipbuilders in South Korea. "Japan's higher export volume of plates is expected to continue while the country's exports of other steel products may slow down," he added.

As for imports, Japan purchased 313,119 tonnes of carbon steel in February, down 15.1% on year and 11% lower on month, with South Korea being the top seller to Japan of 203,800 tonnes, down 21.9% on year and 15.6% lower on month, and the second-largest seller was Taiwan at 61,174 tonnes, down 16.5% on year but up 106.8% on month, the JISF data showed.

Written by Yoko Manabe, yoko.manabe@mysteel.com

This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.