Japan’s total iron and steel exports rose by 22.8pc in July to 3.1mn mt against the same year-ago month, according to Japan’s Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
Exports to South Korea rose by 22.4pc to 479,238mt and made up 16pc of the total exports while cargoes to China dropped by 26.8pc to 471,955mt making up 15pc of the total exports. Taiwan’s scrap cargoes fell by 14.5pc to 173,677mt or 6pc of the total in July compared to the same month in 2020. The top three export destinations consumed 37pc of ferrous scrap. Exports to the US grew by 28.9pc to 85,199mt in July annually.
Japan’s semi-finished steel exports declined by 18.1pc to 325,336mt in July compared to the same year-ago month. Ordinary steel exports increased by 2.5pc to 2mn mt in July against the same year-ago month led by hot-rolled wide strip, which rose by 7.1pc in July to 960,382mt from the year-ago month. Specialty steel exports climbed by 1.2pc to 683,060mt in the same period.
Exports of heavy plate fell by 5.4pc, galvanized sheet rose by 0.9pc, and cold-rolled wide strip grew by 4.7pc to 236,420mt, 208,216mt, and 188,961mt, respectively.
Iron and steel imports climbed by 14.8pc to 592,527mt in July led by ordinary steel products totaling 324,533mt, which rose by 17pc in July, both against the same month last year. Specialty steel imports dropped by 18.2pc to 36,339mt as secondary steel increased by 14.7pc to 63,094mt in July 2021 compared to the same year-ago month.
Japan’s total iron and steel exports increased by 2.2pc in January-July compared to the same year-ago period. The country’s total imports in the segment rose by 3.1pc to 4.3mn mt in the seven-month period against the same timeframe in 2020.