According to Japan’s customs data, the quantity of billet exported by Japan declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2017. In 2013, Japan exported 5.70 million mt. That quantity declined to 5.01 million mt in 2014 (12.1 percent decline y-o-y), 4.56 million mt in 2015 (9.0 percent decline y-o-y), 4.26 million mt in 2016 (6.6 percent y-o-y) and 4.00 million mt in 2017 (6.1 percent decline y-o-y).
Compared to 2013, Japanese billet exports declined by 29.8 percent, but year-over-year Japanese billet exports declined by 6.1 percent.