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Enhanced global steel trade monitoring
Steel Exports Report: Japan
Background
Japan is the second-largest steel exporter in the world (2018). In year-to-date 2019 (through June), further referred to as YTD 2019, Japan exported 15.9 million metric tons of steel — a 13 percent decline from 18.3 million metric tons in YTD 2018. Japan’s exports represented about 8 percent of all steel exported globally in 2017. The volume of Japan’s 2018 steel exports were about half that of the world’s largest exporter, China. In value terms, steel represented just 4.1 percent of the total amount of goods Japan exported in 2018.
Japan exports steel to more than 130 countries and territories. The 10 countries labeled in the map below represent the top markets for Japan’s exports of steel, receiving more than 1.2 million metric tons each and accounting for 82 percent of Japan’s steel exports in 2018.
Japan has maintained a persistent trade surplus in steel products. Exports dipped in 2009 after the global recession, while imports remained relatively flat in comparison. Since reaching a low point in 2009, exports have increased 27 percent from Q2 2009 to Q2 2019, while imports have increased 164 percent over the same time span. Japan’s trade surplus peaked at 38.3 million metric tons in 2010 and has trended downwards with the exception of 2013. In YTD 2019, Japan’s steel trade surplus amounted to 12.7 million metric tons, a 17 percent decrease from 15.3 million metric tons in YTD 2018.
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