Japan’s steel exports fell by 3.6% y-o-y to 2.75 million tonnes (mnt) in November 2022. This is the fifth consecutive month of y-o-y decline, although decline has narrowed. Moreover, it is expected that bottoming out of overseas markets will be reflected in business negotiations after March 2023.
For the current year calendar 2022 exports will be approximately 32 mnt, largely stable on a yearly basis.
Japan’s exports to ASEAN dropped by 13.1% to 898,000 tonnes (t) in the month under review, for the sixth consecutive month. Exports to South Korea down by 2.4% to 501,000 t in November. Exports to China declined by 28.8% to 292,000 t y-o-y for the nine months consecutively, reaching below 300,000 t for the third consecutive month.
Meanwhile, exports to European Union (EU) increased 4.3 times to 215,000 t, the second highest level after the monthly high of 222,000 tons recorded in May. Exports to the United States (US) surged by 60.1% to 132,000 t and those to the Middle East rose 2.8 times to 68,000 t.
Steel imports down y-o-y in November
Japan’s steel imports too recorded a fall of 7.9% y-o-y to 602,000 t in November consecutively three months.
Imports from South Korea fell by 1.1% to 265,000 t. Imports from ASEAN also declined by 20.5% to 52,000 t whereas shipments from China registered an increase of 7.4% to 109,800 t.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.
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