Steel Exports by Japan See Sixth Straight Year of Decline

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The trade statistics published by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF) suggests sixth straight year of year-on-year decline in steel exports by the country. The exports totaled 34.284 million tons during the entire fiscal year 2018, falling by more than 8% over the previous fiscal. The value of exports was up marginally by 0.8% year-on-year at 3,337 billion yen.

The primary destination of Japanese steel exports was Asian region, which imported 27.808 million tons of steel from Japan. The regional imports were down marginally by 6.6% when compared with the prior fiscal. Among Asian countries, China emerged as the largest importer, receiving 5.247 million tons of steel from Japan, followed by South Korea with receipts of 5.209 million tons. The Japanese steel exports to ASEAN countries dropped marginally by nearly 3% to around 12.213 million tons.

The steel export quantity for the month of March 2019 alone totaled around 2.739 million tons, down significantly by nearly 18%. The monthly exports have declined for five months in a row now, said MoF press release. The exports were valued at 274.6 billion yen, posting a year-on-year decline of nearly 10%.

Meantime, Japanese steel imports surged 3% in FY 18 to 8.261 million tons. Out of this, 6.911 million tons were sourced from Asian region. The imports totaled 0.712 million tons in Mar ’19, significantly higher by over 15% year-on-year.