Japan Billet Exports Decline 9%, Mar’18

Japan’s billet exports recorded a fall of 9% M-o-M in the third month of 2018, as per the country’s custom.

The nation’s billet exports were recorded at 0.31 MnT in March 2018, decline by around 8.82% M-o-M against 0.34 MnT in February 2018. Taiwan remains the largest importer of Japanese billet, as the nation has contribute around 51.61% (0.16 MnT), followed by South Korea (0.07 MnT), Thailand (0.05 MnT) & Philippines (0.02 MnT).

In the duration of Jan-Mar’18, Japan has exported about 0.93 MnT billet, decline by around 4.12% Y-o-Y against 0.97 MnT during the same period in 2017. In CY17, the country’s billet export was around 3.99 MnT & in CY16 at 4.25 MnT.

Further in the month of March 2018, the crude steel production of Japan was around 9.08 MnT and in CY18 (Jan-Mar) it was approximately 26.41 MnT. Meanwhile, in CY17 the figure of crude steel production stood at 104.66 MnT, & 104.77 MnT in CY16.

Key Updates

1. During Jan-Mar’18, Japan imported around 61.09% of iron ore from Australia, which was around 18.76 MnT. Meanwhile the import of iron ore in the same preceding last year stood at 17.51 MnT. Current offer of Fe 62% Fines (Australia) are at USD 68/MT CNF China

2. Japan’s leading EAF steel producer – Tokyo Steel has raised its domestic scrap purchase prices by Japanese Yen 1,000/MT (USD 9) at Utsunomiya plant

3. Japanese H2 grade ferrous scrap export price assessment is at Yen 34,000-35,000/MT (USD 310-319/MT) FOB Japan

4. The export offers of 150*150 IS 2830 grade billet are currently at USD 520-530/MT FoB India & 125*125 3sp at USD 510-515/MT FoB Ukraine

Top 5 Unload Country (Billet) in CY16 & CY17

Quantity in MnT
Sources: SteelMint Stats.