Japan's Jun stainless CRC imports up 61% YoY to record high

In June, Japan imported some 20,956 tonnes of stainless cold-rolled coils (CRCs), up 61.3% on year, according to the latest data released by Trade Statistics of Japan. Market sources shared that it was the first time to reach above 20,000 tonnes, and they were concerned about the impact on high volume of imported materials.

Japan's June stainless CRC imports were also 49.9% higher on month, and the total over January-June reached 96,909 tonnes, up 16.9% on year. A Tokyo-based trader attributed the rise to tight supply and the fact that some buyers had become more dependent on imported materials. "But the rise had also to