According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's hot rolled (HR) flat steel exports totaled 1.1 million metric tons in October this year, decreasing by 7.4 percent month on month and up 4.7 percent compared to October 2011.
Meanwhile, in the first 10 months of 2012 Japan's hot rolled flat steel exports amounted to 11.4 million metric tons, rising by 8.4 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the first 10 months of this year, Japanese hot rolled flat steel exports to South Korea totaled 3.17 million metric tons, falling by eight percent, exports to China came to 1.17 million metric tons, falling 8.3 percent, while Vietnam's hot rolled steel imports from Japan increased by 2.3 percent to 789,498 metric tons, all compared to January-October 2011.