In August this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.43 million metric tons, decreasing by three percent month on month and down by 3.5 percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 665,911 metric tons, with a month-on-month growth of five percent and a year-on-year decrease of one percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).
In the first eight months of the current year, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 28.06 million mt, rising by 1.5 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 5.25 million mt, decreasing by 16.9 percent, both compared to the same period of 2014.
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first eight months this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 4.4 million mt, down 9.5 percent, while exports to China decreased by 8.5 percent to 3.65 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 2.1 million metric tons, down nine percent, exports to Thailand totaled 3.5 million metric tons, declining by 4.8 percent, while exports to the US totaled 1.62 million metric tons, increasing by 2.2 percent, all year on year.
In the January-August period, Japan imported 2.3 million metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, down 18.6 percent, it imported 1.15 million metric tons from China, decreasing by 19.6 percent, while imports from Taiwan fell eight percent to 731,198 metric tons, all compared to the first eight months of 2014.
| Exports | Imports | |||||||
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| August 2015 (mt) | Change m-o-m (%) | January- August 2015 | Change y-o-y (%) | August 2015 (mt) | Change m-o-m (%) | January- August 2015 | Change y-o-y (%) |
| Semi-finished | 353,517 | 4.2 | 3,109,033 | -12.9 | 15,762 | 55.5 | 88,208 | -50.7 |
| Bars | 61,293 | -1.7 | 431,400 | 152.5 | 3,610 | 11.7 | 25,035 | -10.9 |
| Wire rod | 61,898 | 9.7 | 496,684 | 5.5 | 11,940 | 2.8 | 72,453 | -3.1 |
| Heavy plate | 214,817 | -18.7 | 2,097,784 | 19.6 | 36,821 | -25.5 | 391,460 | -20.1 |
| HRC | 1,179,824 | -3.7 | 8,692,765 | 12.9 | 137,963 | -0.5 | 1,057,986 | -3.82 |
| CRC | 247,794 | 1.45 | 1,869,881 | 21.66 | 79,076 | 48 | 586,404 | -11.1 |
| Galvanized sheet | 250,805 | -2.9 | 2,176,937 | -14.8 | 73,809 | 38 | 443,890 | -17.4 |
| Special steel | 646,239 | 0.5 | 5,293,670 | -8.3 | 75,137 | -7.4 | 607,269 | -16.5 |
| Stainless steel | 84,736 | -13.5 | 728,401 | -6.4 | 15,461 | 4.7 | 112,672 | -23.9 |