Posted on 07 Jul 2014
Analysis of steel exports from Japan and China to ASEAN
Japan has traditionally been the largest source of steel import in ASEAN countries, consistently registering a market share of more than 25% over the last few years. In 2013, however, China overtook Japan as the biggest source of steel import in ASEAN, with market share of almost 30%.
The bulk of the steel exported from Japan into the region is quality steel for the automotive sector, especially hot rolled coil. In 2013, Japan exported a total of 13.6 million tonnes of hot rolled coil, a rise of 7.6% y-o-y. Around 33% of the total hot rolled coil export from Japan was destined for the ASEAN countries, the volume of which rose by 3.8% y-o-y.
Japan’s other major steel export is cold rolled coil which registered 5.7 million tonnes in 2013, an increase of 2.8% y-o-y. 35% of total cold rolled coil export from Japan in2013 was sent to ASEAN and the volume increased by 5.6% y-o-y.
China also exports various steel products to other countries, but the bulk of the products are long steel. China’s export of bar registered the highest volume of 9 million tonnes in 2013, an increase of 48% y-o-y. 30% of China’s bar export in 2013 was for the ASEAN market, and the volume registered a significant increase of 59% y-o-y. China’s second largest export volume is wire rod, which registered 8 million tonnes in 2013, an increase of 43% y-o-y. 45% out of the export volume was sent to ASEAN and the volume rose by 51% y-o-y.
China also exports significant volume of various flat steel products to other countries. Export of hot rolled coil from China increased 7% y-o-y to 6.7 million tonnes in 2013, out of which 28% was exported to ASEAN countries. The export volume to ASEAN registered a moderate increase of 3% y-o-y. Export of cold rolled sheet from China registered 4.4 million tonnes in 2013, a decline of 1.7% y-o-y. The volume of cold rolled sheet exported to ASEAN was 18% of the total exports, a marginal increase of 1.2% y-o-y.
China’s export of hot dipped galvanized sheet registered 5.4 million tonnes in 2013 (13% y-o-y increase), 20% of which was the export to ASEAN. Export of pipes & tubes from China registered a significant volume of 9 million tonnes in 2013, with nearly 60% of the export comprising of seamless pipes. Export of pipes &tubes from China to ASEAN was 1.3 million tonnes, a decline of 5.2% y-o-y.
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