Japan's steel imports jump in 2005

Japan’s steel imports jump in 2005

Japan's Ministry of Finance disclosed that the country's steel imports surged 20 percent year on year to 8.2 million tons in 2005 due to the 2.5 million tons of steel imported from China. On the other hand, Japan's steel exports fell 7.8 percent year on year to 32.2 million tons last year. The Ministry indicated that Japan's steel exports fell 12 percent year on year to 2.66 million tons in December while imports decreased 23 percent to 536,940 tons. Japan's iron ore exports fell 20 percent year on year to 10.1 million tons in December. In 2005, Japan imported 132.3 million tons of iron ore, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier.