According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's hot rolled (HR) flat steel exports totaled 1.29 million metric tons in May this year, increasing by 3.8 percent month on month and up 3.5 percent compared to May 2012. Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2013 Japan's hot rolled flat steel exports amounted to 6.6 million metric tons, rising by 18.6 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the first five months of this year, Japanese hot rolled flat steel exports to South Korea totaled 1.5 million metric tons, falling by 10.3 percent, exports to Thailand came to 727,493 metric tons, falling 3.3 percent, while China's hot rolled steel imports from Japan increased by 8.2 percent to 627,345 metric tons, all compared to January-May 2012.