According to Banchero Costa, “the largest exporter of steel products by far is China, which accounted for 30.7% of global steel products exports in Jan-Dec 2024. In Jan-Dec 2024, shipments from China increased by +27.6% y-o-y to 66.2 mln tonnes, and this followed on the +29.1% y-o-y growth in 2023. Exports from China were now more than double the 27.7 mln tonnes exported in 2020. In second place is Japan, which accounted for 12.2% of global steel products exports in Jan-Dec 2024. In Jan-Dec 2024, steel products exports from Japan declined by -0.5% y-o-y to 26.4 mln tonnes. Volumes out of Japan have been fairly constant in recent years, with 26.5 mln t in 2024, 25.3 mln t in 2023, 27.1 mln t in 2022, 25.2 mln t in 2020. Far in third place is South Korea, with a 10.3% share in 2024. In Jan-Dec 2024, South Korea exported 22.3 mln tonnes of steel products, up +5.9% y-o-y from the 21.1 mln t in 2023, and confirming a steady positive trend from the 19.5 mln t in 2020 and 21.0 mln t in 2021. The European Union is in fourth place with a 9.1% share. In 2024, steel exports from the EU increased by +4.1% y-o-y to 19.6 mln tonnes”.
“In terms of single countries, this was 3.6 mln t from Belgium, 3.0 mln t from the Netherlands, 2.6 mln from Germany, 2.6 mln t from Spain. Russia is in fifth place, with a 8.5% share. Volumes out of Russia declined by -7.9% y-o-y in 2024, and this followed declines of -5.0% in 2023, -11.6% in 2022, from a recent peak of 23.7 mln tonnes in 2021. In terms of imports, the top destination for steel products in 2024 was the European Union, accounting for 16.8% of global steel products imports. Imports to the EU increased by +10.8% y-o-y in Jan-Dec 2024 to 35.2 mln tonnes. This was the highest volume since the 37.3 mln t in 2021. The largest importer in Europe was Italy, with 9.5 mln t in 2024, followed by Spain with 6.5 mln and Belgium with 5.0 mln t. Outside Europe, the largest importers were the USA, accounting for 10.0% of global steel imports. Imports to the USA declined by -0.3% y-o-y in 2024 to 21.0 mln t. In third place was Vietnam, accounting for a 5.5% share and 11.5 mln t in 2024, and marginally behind was Turkey with 11.4 mln tonnes”, the shipbroker said.
Banchero Costa added: “Let’s now focus specifically on China, which as we mentioned above is the world’s largest exporter of steel products with a 30.7% share. Top steel products loading ports in China in 2024 were: Tianjin (20.5 mln t in Jan-Dec 2024), Shanghai (10.2 mln t), Tangshan (7.1 mln t), Bayuquan (5.9 mln t), Zhangjiagang (4.9 mln t), Caofeidian (3.6 mln t), Lianyungang (2.8 mln t). 68.8% of steel products exports from China in 2024 were loaded on Supramaxes, 14.5% on Handies, 12.2% on units smaller than 20k dwt. The vast majority of steel exports from China are shipped to nearby Asian destinations and to the Middle East region. The top destination for Chinese steel is Vietnam, accounting for 10.7% of Chinese steel exports. Volumes from China to Vietnam surged by +38.8% y-o-y in 2024 to 7.1 mln tonnes. In second place is South Korea, accounting for 7.4% of Chinese steel exports, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 6.5%, Indonesia with 4.4%, Saudi Arabia with 4.3%, the Philippines with 4.0%, India with 3.7%, Turkey with 3.6%”, the shipbroker concluded.
Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
