According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's hot rolled (HR) flat steel exports totaled 1.27 million metric tons in August this year, increasing by 1.9 percent month on month and up 6.6 percent compared to August 2012. Meanwhile, in the first eight months of 2013 Japan's hot rolled flat steel exports amounted to 10.3 million metric tons, rising by 13 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the first eight months of this year, Japanese hot rolled flat steel exports to South Korea totaled 2.3 million metric tons, falling by 11.5 percent, while China's hot rolled steel imports from Japan increased by 12.5 percent to 1.06 million metric tons, both compared to January-August 2012.