In June this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.42 million metric tons, falling by 1.8 percent month on month and down 5.4 percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 642,552 metric tons, with a month-on-month increase of 1.2 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 16.2 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).
In the first six months of the current year, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 21.1 million mt, rising by 1.6 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 3.95 million mt, decreasing by 18.9 percent, both compared to the same period of 2014.
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first six months this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 3.29 million mt, down 9.6 percent, while exports to China decreased by 7.5 percent to 2.78 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 1.66 million metric tons, down 5.7 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 2.57 million metric tons, declining by 7.2 percent, while exports to the US totaled 1.24 million metric tons, increasing by nine percent, all year on year.
In the January-June period, Japan imported 1.43 million metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, down 18 percent, it imported 183,027 metric tons from China, decreasing by 41.9 percent, while imports from Taiwan fell 12.3 percent to 478,957 metric tons, all compared to the first six months of 2014.
| Exports | Imports | |||||||
|
| June 2015 (mt) | Change m-o-m (%) | January- June 2015 | Change y-o-y (%) | June 2015 (mt) | Change m-o-m (%) | January- June 2015 | Change y-o-y (%) |
| Semi-finished | 343,373 | 1.47 | 2,416,099 | -11.5 | 12,479 | -70.8 | 62,306 | -60.7 |
| Bars | 75,024 | 47 | 307,769 | 247.4 | 3,530 | -26 | 18,194 | -14.1 |
| Wire rod | 63,592 | -8.5 | 378,368 | 7.1 | 6,228 | -45.2 | 48,896 | -24.1 |
| Heavy plate | 271,579 | 13.8 | 1,618,798 | 20.8 | 51,844 | 0.1 | 305,243 | -23 |
| HRC | 1,078,809 | -2.4 | 6,287,782 | 14.6 | 139,728 | -5.75 | 781,416 | -12.5 |
| CRC | 224,861 | -13 | 2,305,981 | 61.7 | 72,181 | -13.5 | 453,904 | -17.03 |
| Galvanized sheet | 283,844 | 6.0 | 1,667,817 | -14.2 | 57,875 | 41.8 | 316,613 | -19.6 |
| Special steel | 617,203 | -6.9 | 4,004,346 | -7.5 | 72,484 | 10.3 | 451,008 | -19.7 |
| Stainless steel | 84,546 | 7.3 | 545,662 | -4.2 | 13,140 | -5.7 | 82,447 | -31.1 |