Statistics from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) revealed a 3.8% drop in total steel exports from January to November 2025, reaching 27.8 million tons. Monthly performance in November recorded 2.4 million tons shipped, a 3.6% increase over the previous year, though volume dropped by 5.7% compared to October.

Market demand varied significantly across regions during the first ten months. Shipments to Taiwan rose by 6.4% year on year to 1.7 million tons, while exports to Thailand grew slightly by 1.4% to nearly 4 million tons.

Conversely, South Korea experienced a 19.6% reduction in intake to 3.5 million tons. Exports to China and the US also retracted by 11.8% and 10.2%, reaching 2.15 million tons and 991,000 tons, respectively.