In September this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.74 million metric tons, increasing by 5.2 percent month on month and up 7.4 percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 792,119 metric tons, with a month-on-month increase of 17.8 percent and a year-on-year increase of 31.2 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).
In the January-September period of the current year, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 31.4 million mt, decreasing by 5.5 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 7.11 million mt, increasing by 29.7 percent, both compared to the January-September period of 2013.
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first nine months of this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 5.51 million mt, down eight percent, while exports to China decreased by 0.6 percent to 4.5 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 2.57 million metric tons, down 13.5 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 4.14 million metric tons, down 3.2 percent, while exports to the US totaled 1.83 million metric tons, increasing by 2.9 percent, all compared to the same period of 2013.
In the January-September period of the current year, Japan imported 3.17 million metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, up 25.3 percent, it imported 1.61 million metric tons from China, up 73.3 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose to 887,737 metric tons, increasing by 13.3 percent, all compared to the same period of 2013.
| Exports | Imports | |||||||
| September 2014 (mt) | Change m-o-m (%) | January-September 2014 | Change y-o-y (%) | September 2014 (mt) | Change m-o-m (%) | January-September 2014 | Change y-o-y (%) | |
| Semi-finished | 395,626 | -16.0 | 3,963,115 | -14.9 | 23,642 | 140 | 202,438 | 160.7 |
| Bars | 30,900 | 59.6 | 201,734 | -25.8 | 3,368 | 108.6 | 31,464 | -6.4 |
| Wire rod | 68,196 | 11.1 | 539,128 | 5 | 10,793 | 42.2 | 85,551 | -10 |
| Heavy plate | 276,171 | 36.4 | 2,032,716 | 19.8 | 48,156 | 12.7 | 538,073 | 87.5 |
| HRC | 995,103 | -2.8 | 8,431,371 | -5.4 | 151,080 | 11.7 | 1,342,514 | 13.5 |
| CRC | 243,154 | 3.2 | 2,120,770 | -14.6 | 69,651 | 15.4 | 763,648 | 16.3 |
| Galvanized sheet | 321,690 | 7.1 | 2,877,353 | -10 | 76,144 | 19.1 | 613,222 | 80.9 |
| Special steel | 819,431 | 10.9 | 6,592,918 | 16.7 | 75,621 | -4.7 | 802,537 | 84.8 |
| Stainless steel | 101,502 | -1.7 | 879,350 | 6.8 | 16,937 | 36.2 | 165,055 | 6.1 |