Japan's Iron Ore Imports Dipped Drastically

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Japanese imports of the steelmaking raw material dropped significantly during the month of June 2019. The data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) suggests 14.7% year-on-year decline in iron ore imports during the month. The Japanese iron ore imports totaled 9.123 million tons (Mt) in June 2019. This compares with the imports of 10.691 Mt in June last year. The import prices averaged at $85.66 per ton during the month.

The largest source of import was Australia. The imports from that country totaled 6.029 Mt, accounting for more than 66% of the total imports. In second place was Brazil with supplies of 1.524 Mt. The other key suppliers were Canada (847,800 tons), India (224,147 tons) and Sweden (162,872 tons).

The non-agglomerated ore imports totaled 8.175 Mt, accounting for bulk of the imports. Over the prior year, the imports have dropped sharply by approximately 13%. The top three import sources of non-agglomerated iron ore were Australia (6.029 Mt), Brazil (1.143 Mt) and Canada (564,958 tons). The import prices averaged at $79.82 per ton.

Meantime, the agglomerated ore imports recorded drastic decline by 28% over the year. The imports dropped from 1.316 Mt in Jan ’18 to 948,290 tons in June this year. The primary import sources were Brazil (380,535 tons), Canada (282,842 tons), the U.S. (130,791 tons), and Ukraine (86,000 tons). The average price of import stood at $136.06 per ton during the month, MoF data said.