International Steel Mills
January 31, 2015
US OCTG Weakness Affecting Japan & South Korea
Written by Sandy Williams
According to The TEX Report, Japan will decrease its shipment of hot rolled coil to South Korea beginning in February. Orders from South Korea for February shipments of HRC have dropped, in some cases by nearly half, due to weakened demand for OCTG in the U.S.
Last year Japan exported 2,045,000 tonnes (2,254,188 net tons) of HRC to South Korea, 30-40 percent for use by pipe mills that export products primarily to the U.S. Hot rolled exports from Japan to South Korea were down 7.7 percent in 2014.
