Japanese Steel Plate Exports Increase Significantly

Japan's steel sheet exports rose 27.9% in May this year, according to trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

The export of heavy-plate products amounted to 221 thousand tons. The huge increase in exports from the previous month was mainly driven by significant increases in exports to destinations such as South Korea, China and Thailand. Exports to South Korea rose sharply by 43% from the previous month to 79,900 tons. Exports to China amounted to about 89,000 tons, an increase of one third. At the same time, shipments of steel plates to Thailand increased 3.24 times and amounted to almost 8,000 tons in May 2019.

In contrast, board exports to Taiwan were down 35% from the previous month to around 6,000 tonnes.

In Japan, imports of steel sheets for the month slightly decreased by almost 14% and amounted to 38,700 tons. South Korea and China were the main suppliers during the month, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, the export of Japanese sheet piles for the month increased by 36% compared to the previous month and amounted to 19,600 tons. Export prices averaged 72,000 yen per tonne FOB. Exports during May were 62,000 tonnes, down 43% when compared with the corresponding five-month period in 2018. The main destinations were China (12,000 tons), Taiwan (3400 tons) and Hong Kong (1,000 tons).

Japan's imports of sheet piles increased by almost 79% from the previous month to nearly 3,600 tons. Aggregate imports amounted to about 22,000 tons until May this year.