Japan's steel exports drop 5% in CY'22

Japan's steel exports fell by 5% y-o-y to 29.11 million tonnes (mnt) in calendar year (CY) 2022 compared to 30.63 mnt in CY'21. In December, exports declined by 3% m-o-m to 2.42 mnt against 2.49 mnt a month ago.

Exports by products

Flat steel exports fell from 25 mnt in CY'21 to 24.1 mnt in CY'22. Exports of semi-finished products were down 16% to 2.7 mnt, while sales of special steel products dropped 9.6% to 6.941 mnt.

Exports by destination

Exports to South Korea rose by 10.9% to 5.43 mnt, reaching the 5 mnt level for the first time in three years. Exports to China fell by 22.9% to 3.3 mnt, falling below 4 mnt for the first time since 2.96 mnt in 1999.

Ordinary steel exports:

Japan's ordinary steel exports fell by 3.3% y-o-y to 21.4 mnt in CY'22, as per steel trade results released by the Japan Steel Federation. This is the first decline in two years.

In December, ordinary steel exports were down 1.6% y-o-y to 1.8 mnt, the first decline in two months. However, sales of wide hot coils increased by 2% m-o-m to 906,000 tonnes (t), marking the second consecutive month of growth.

In CY'22 sales of hot-rolled wide-band steel rose by 1.6% y-o-y to 10.81 mnt, the first increase in two years. Sales of thick plates were up 9.8% to 2.91 mnt, an increase for the second consecutive year. However, sales of cold-rolled and galvanised steel sheets were down 20% y-o-y. Sales of rails were 259,000 t, falling below 300,000 t for the first time in 17 years.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.