Japan's iron and steel product exports down 2.06 percent in November

In November this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.2 million metric tons, rising by 5.7 percent month on month and down by 2.06 percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 720,028 metric tons, with a month-on-month increase of 7.03 percent and a year-on-year fall of 1.8 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).

In the January-November period of this year, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 34.8 million mt, declining by eight percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 7.76 million mt, rising by five percent, both compared to the same period of 2016. 

Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the January-November period of this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 5.5 million mt, down 14.9 percent, while exports to China increased by 1.6 percent to 5.11 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 2.64 million metric tons, up 13.1 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 5.05 million metric tons, falling by 4.8 percent, while exports to the US totaled 1.71 million metric tons, falling by nine percent, all year on year. 

In the January-November period of the current year, Japan imported 3.72 million metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, up 10.3 percent, it imported 1.4 million metric tons from China, decreasing by 8.5 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose 1.7 percent to 1.02 million metric tons, all compared to the same period of last year.