Japan

In the final quarter of 2024, the domestic recycled steel market remained rather weak and a wait-and-see attitude prevailed. The market had plummeted between mid-July and late September owing to the rapid appreciation of the yen but recovered momentarily in early October in line with a weaker exchange rate. It was then slowed by a decline in domestic demand for recycled steel and an increase in China’s steel exports.

The Kanto tender on January 10 this year for 15,000 tonnes was won with a bid of Yen 44,810 per tonne - an increase of Yen 2071 or 5% when compared to December. The appreciation of the US dollar and the depreciation of the yen, as well as the decline in sea freight rates, provided a tailwind for exports, and the winning bid exceeded the Kanto domestic price on that day by more than Yen 3500 per tonne.

According to Ministry of Finance statistics, Japan’s recycled steel exports in 2024 totalled 6,538,190 tonnes for a decline of 5.6% over 2023. This was the third consecutive year in which exports had fallen below 7 million tonnes; the drop to 6,305,434 tonnes in 2022 had been the first time in 11 years that the total had failed to reach the 7 million tonnes mark. While exports to Vietnam rapidly increased and those to South Asia also made gains, shipments to South Korea fell significantly to a level not seen in recent years. With export declines to some South East Asian destinations too, the overall result was a drop in overseas shipments.

According to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, the country’s crude steel production amounted to 84,009,200 tonnes last year for a drop of 3.4% over 2023. It also marked the third consecutive year of decline: production had totalled 96,336,009 tonnes in 2021 but fell below 90 million tonnes to 89,268,000 tonnes in 2022 and has continued to trend lower since then.