Japanese H-beam exports surge in February

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The latest export statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) indicates that the country’s H-beam exports surged higher significantly during the month of February this year.

According to MoF data, the country’s H-beam exports totaled 43,000 tons in Feb ‘15, up 27.1% over the previous month exports. The country’s H-beam exports had totaled 34,000 tons during January this year. When matched with the exports during same month a year before, the Feb ’15 exports were up by 2.3 times. The country’s H-beam exports surpassed 40,000 tons for the first time in five months. It was in Sep ’14 that the exports had crossed the 40,000 tons mark. The Japanese H-beam exports had totaled 40,400 tons during that month.

The largest export destination of Japanese H-beams was South Korea. The exports to South Korea totaled 9,400 tons, constituting more than one-fifth of the total exports by the country. The second largest importer of Japanese H-beams was Taiwan. The country imported 4,400 tons from Japan during the month of February this year. The other key importers during the month were Singapore (4,100 tons), Mexico (3,200 tons) and Indonesia (2,300 tons).

The export price averaged at $643 per ton FOB during the month of February this year.

The combined exports during the initial two-month period of the year totaled 77,000 tons. The exports during this period were up by 2.6 times in comparison with the exports during the corresponding two-month period last year.

On the other hand, the country’s H-beam imports during the month were up 50.4% to 5,400 tons. China accounted for almost all of the H-beam imports by Japan during the month. The cumulative H-beam imports by Japan during January-February this year dropped sharply by nearly 60% to 8,900 tons.