Japan's ferrous scrap and iron and steel product exports decline

Japan's iron and steel product exports decreased by 10% y-o-y to about 5.2 million tons in the January-October period. Vietnam was the largest buyer with imports increasing by 54% to 2 million tons, while exports to South Korea and Taiwan decreased by 43% and 34%, respectively, to 1.3 million tons and 545,000 tons.

According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), iron and steel product exports also decreased by 4.1% to 26.4 million tons. South Korea remained Japan's largest buyer of iron and steel products with imports of 3.95 million tons, despite a 17.9% decrease y-o-y. Exports to China fell by 4.3% to 2.25 million tons. Exports to Taiwan increased by 11.3% to 1.5 million tons, while exports to Thailand fell by 8.5% to 3.64 million tons. Shipments to the US fell by 1.5% to 1.02 million tons.

In October, Japan exported approximately 557,000 tons of ferrous scrap, a 20% decrease compared to the same period last year. Iron and steel product exports fell by 6.4% to 2.52 million tons in the same period.