Japan imported around 8.4mn t of iron ore in July, down by 8.6pc from a year earlier on the back of weaker steel demand.
Purchases from the country's top supplier Australia fell by 13.6pc to 4.6mn t, while deliveries from the second-largest exporter Brazil increased by 8.9pc to 3.1mn t.
Overall imports fell mostly because of weaker steel demand, especially from the auto sector. Booked orders for ordinary steel for auto use in June fell to 537,641t, down by 10.4pc from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the industry group the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) on 16 August.
Sluggish steel demand from the auto industry is poised to continue until September, according to JISF's steel demand outlook, mostly because of continuing partial output suspensions by some producers. Car manufacturers, including Toyota, halted some of their production in June following allegations of false reporting of safety test results.
An influx of overseas steel products, especially from China, raised concerns among Japanese steel producers, with one manufacturer even suggesting that the government impose trade measures including anti-dumping duties. Japan's ordinary steel product imports from China increased by 43pc from a year earlier to 256,908t over April-June, according to JISF.
Domestic steel producers such as Nippon Steel have occasionally expressed concerns that there is a huge demand-supply imbalance because of "high-level" production and weaker demand in China and India, resulting in higher exports to other markets including Japan.
The Japanese government is not considering taking any immediate measures, according to a ministry of trade and industry (Meti) official that spoke to Argus, although Meti is "closely monitoring the situation".
| Japan iron ore imports ('000t) | |||
| Jul '24 | Jul '23 | ± % | |
| Australia | 4,649 | 5,381 | -13.6 |
| Brazil | 3,050 | 2,802 | 8.9 |
| Canada | 520 | 496 | 4.8 |
| US | 0 | 264 | - |
| New Zealand | 0 | 0 | - |
| India | 0 | 0 | - |
| China | 0 | 0 | - |
| South Africa | 0 | 202 | - |
| Russia | 0 | 0 | - |
| Mauritania | 0 | 0 | - |
| Chile | 0 | 15 | - |
| Peru | 151 | 0 | - |
| Ukraine | 0 | 0 | - |
| Total | 8,370 | 9,160 | -8.6 |
| Source: finance ministry | |||
