Japanese stainless steel exports soared 8% in January

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The statistics published by Japanese Customs authorities indicate that the country’s stainless steel exports declined significantly during the first month of the year. This is in comparison with exports during the same month a year before. On the other hand, Japanese stainless steel imports increased marginally over the previous year in January 2017.

According to Customs statistics, Japan’s stainless steel exports totaled 72,576 tons in January. This is down by 8.4% when compared with the exports during the corresponding month in 2016. The Japanese stainless steel exports had totaled 79,231 tons in January 2016. Upon comparison with the prior month, the Japanese exports were down significantly by nearly one-fifth. The exports fell by 20.1% from 90,833 tons in December 2016.

The key export destination for Japanese stainless steel products was China. The exports to China totaled 11,853 tons. The exports declined by 4.5% over the previous year. Month-over-month, the exports to China were down considerably by 20.9%. The second largest importer was Thailand. Thailand’s imports of stainless steel from Japan totaled 10,855 tons, jumping higher by nearly 27% over the year. When matched with the prior month, the exports top Thailand dropped by nearly 14%. In third place was Thailand with 6,159 tons. The exports declined by 19% when compared with same month the previous year. Thailand’s imports of Japanese stainless steel plunged by 25.6% over the prior month.

Meantime, the country’s stainless steel imports totaled 16,551 tons during the first month of 2017. The imports edged higher marginally by 2% when compared with January last year. The imports had totaled 16,226 tons in Jan ’16. Month-on-month, the imports declined sharply by 15%. The Japanese stainless steel imports had totaled 19,472 tons in December 2016.

South Korea was the largest supplier of stainless steel to Japan during the month. The supplies from Korea were up significantly by nearly 30% to 13,015 tons. Month-on-month, the exports remained more or less flat, dropping marginally by 0.7%. The imports from Taiwan fell drastically by nearly 60% year-on-year to 1,618 tons. The month-on-month decline exceeded 63%. The imports from China totaled 833 tons, down by nearly 10% over the previous year and by 0.4% when compared with the month before.

Meantime, the Japanese stainless steel scrap exports totaled 9,547 tons during Jan ’17, significantly lower by 38.4% when matched with the month before. The largest importer of stainless steel scrap from Japan in Jan ’17 was South Korea. The exports to Korea totaled 6,562 tons, accounting for nearly 69% of the total exports out of the country. The second largest destination of Japanese stainless steel scrap exports was Thailand with 1,157 tons. The other key importers were Taiwan (832 tons), Malaysia (388 tons) and Indonesia (301 tons).

Japan imported 7,398 tons of stainless steel scrap during January this year. The imports increased slightly by 1.2% when compared with the prior month. The largest supplier of stainless steel scrap during the month was South Korea. The imports from Korea increased by nearly 12% to total 4,177 tons. The second largest exporter was the US. The imports from the US rose by 11% month-on-month to 1,122 tons. In third place was Taiwan. The imports from that country tumbled nearly 32% over the previous month to 1,089 tons in Jan ’17.