Korea Trade Data

Articles of iron or steel: South Korea exports and imports

HS chapter 73 · 철강의 제품 · latest month: October 2026

Exports, October 2026
$849.3M
+5.0% vs previous month
vs same month a year earlier
+50.8%
export value
Exports, last 12 months
$9.03B
-0.6% vs 12 months before
Imports, October 2026
$702.9M
Export value per kg
$2.55
net weight, October 2026

In October 2026, South Korea exported $849.3 million of articles of iron or steel (HS 73), up 5.0% from September 2026 and up 50.8% from October 2025.

Over the 12 months to October 2026, exports of articles of iron or steel (HS 73) totalled $9.03 billion, down 0.6% from the 12 months before ($9.08 billion).

The largest destination over the 12 months to October 2026 was the United States ($2.83 billion, 31.3% of the total), followed by China and Japan.

That was 0.9% of South Korea's total goods exports over the same 12 months.

Imports in October 2026 were $702.9 million (up 21.6% from October 2025), leaving a surplus of $146.4 million for the month.

Last 24 months

Monthly exportsExport value in US dollars (FOB).
$0M$250M$500M$750M$1000MOct ’26May ’26Dec ’25Jul ’25Feb ’25November 2024: $829.4 millionDecember 2024: $823.4 millionJanuary 2025: $799.9 millionFebruary 2025: $743.7 millionMarch 2025: $831.4 millionApril 2025: $914.5 millionMay 2025: $738.7 millionJune 2025: $696.3 millionJuly 2025: $771.4 millionAugust 2025: $634.9 millionSeptember 2025: $736.5 millionOctober 2025: $563.3 millionNovember 2025: $672.5 millionDecember 2025: $718.3 millionJanuary 2026: $793.9 millionFebruary 2026: $568.6 millionMarch 2026: $690.6 millionApril 2026: $760.3 millionMay 2026: $711.4 millionJune 2026: $806.5 millionJuly 2026: $934.6 millionAugust 2026: $713.7 millionSeptember 2026: $809.0 millionOctober 2026: $849.3 million
Monthly importsImport value in US dollars (CIF).
$0M$250M$500M$750M$1000MOct ’26May ’26Dec ’25Jul ’25Feb ’25$703MNovember 2024: $840.0 millionDecember 2024: $868.4 millionJanuary 2025: $769.4 millionFebruary 2025: $587.4 millionMarch 2025: $905.4 millionApril 2025: $699.6 millionMay 2025: $637.8 millionJune 2025: $630.5 millionJuly 2025: $651.3 millionAugust 2025: $619.0 millionSeptember 2025: $667.8 millionOctober 2025: $577.8 millionNovember 2025: $565.4 millionDecember 2025: $725.1 millionJanuary 2026: $590.1 millionFebruary 2026: $573.7 millionMarch 2026: $627.5 millionApril 2026: $676.2 millionMay 2026: $632.4 millionJune 2026: $711.4 millionJuly 2026: $686.0 millionAugust 2026: $647.9 millionSeptember 2026: $711.0 millionOctober 2026: $702.9 million

Headings under chapter 73

CodeProductExports, 12 monthsSharevs 12 months beforeOctober 2026
7326Other articles of iron or steel$1.78B 19.7%+7.6%$150.5M
7306Other welded tubes, pipes and hollow profiles of iron or steel$1.42B 15.7%+10.6%$147.6M
7308Steel structures and parts (bridges, towers, frameworks)$1.01B 11.2%-30.1%$79.7M
7318Screws, bolts, nuts, washers and rivets of iron or steel$979.4M 10.8%-1.9%$90.9M
7307Tube and pipe fittings of iron or steel$964.1M 10.7%+2.6%$95.7M
7305Large-diameter tubes and pipes of iron or steel (over 406.4 mm)$786.5M 8.7%+17.7%$97.5M
7304Seamless tubes and pipes of iron or steel$459.4M 5.1%+6.8%$46.7M
7312Stranded wire, ropes and cables of iron or steel$327.3M 3.6%-12.8%$30.3M
7310Tanks, drums, cans and similar containers of iron or steel$248.1M 2.7%+20.1%$22.0M
7309Reservoirs, tanks, vats and similar containers for any material, etc.$244.2M 2.7%+8.2%$14.5M
7311Containers for compressed or liquefied gas, of iron or steel$235.0M 2.6%+1.9%$22.9M
7321Stoves, ranges, grates, cookers, barbecues, braziers, gas-rings, etc.$127.6M 1.4%-8.8%$12.4M
7325Other cast articles of iron or steel$102.8M 1.1%-14.3%$9.1M
7320Springs and leaves for springs, of iron or steel$102.3M 1.1%+3.3%$8.8M
7315Chain and parts thereof, of iron or steel$53.1M 0.6%-8.0%$4.2M
7323Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of iron or steel, etc.$51.3M 0.6%-1.3%$4.3M
7317Nails, tacks, drawing pins, corrugated nails, staples and similar articles, etc.$29.8M 0.3%-28.8%$3.1M
7322Radiators for central heating, not electrically heated, and parts thereof, etc.$21.4M 0.2%-10.8%$2.7M
7301Sheet piling of iron or steel, whether or not drilled, etc.$17.9M 0.2%+0.3%$1.5M
7319Sewing needles, knitting needles, bodkins, crochet hooks, etc.$17.9M 0.2%+27.5%$1.6M
7314Cloth, grill, netting and fencing, of iron or steel wire, etc.$17.5M 0.2%-10.2%$1.5M
7324Sanitary ware and parts thereof, of iron or steel$12.5M 0.1%-5.2%$1.1M
7302Railway or tramway track construction material of iron or steel, the following, etc.$11.9M 0.1%+2.6%$276K
7303Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, of cast iron$6.6M 0.1%-37.7%$376K
7316Anchors, grapnels and parts thereof, of iron or steel$535K 0.0%-36.5%$6,493
7313Barbed wire of iron or steel, etc.$378K 0.0%-35.2%$11K

Top destinations

Export value over the 12 months to October 2026. 204 countries received this product from South Korea in the last 24 months; the table shows the largest 20.

RankCountryExports, 12 monthsSharevs 12 months before Rank beforeOctober 2026
1United States $2.83B31.3%+7.4%1 $332.7M
2China $1.28B14.2%+17.3%2 $101.6M
3Japan $793.3M8.8%-5.4%3 $73.9M
4Vietnam $545.2M6.0%-1.3%5 $52.6M
5Taiwan $472.9M5.2%-39.3%4 $24.6M
6India $325.3M3.6%+22.5%7 $31.1M
7Canada $288.8M3.2%+13.8%9 $21.0M
8Mexico $241.4M2.7%-6.7%8 $20.4M
9Saudi Arabia $241.1M2.7%-22.9%6 $14.2M
10United Arab Emirates $125.5M1.4%-33.7%10 $8.4M
11Germany $119.4M1.3%+5.2%13 $9.2M
12Thailand $111.4M1.2%+5.1%14 $10.5M
13Malaysia $108.5M1.2%+54.2%20 $14.1M
14Indonesia $98.8M1.1%-20.7%12 $8.0M
15Philippines $97.9M1.1%+75.6%25 $13.0M
16Singapore $96.7M1.1%-24.2%11 $7.8M
17Türkiye $87.4M1.0%+8.7%15 $6.9M
18Netherlands $83.7M0.9%+18.9%19 $8.8M
19Australia $69.9M0.8%0.0%21 $7.0M
20France $67.9M0.8%+80.1%29 $6.4M

Countries are linked when exports of this product to them reached $1,000,000 over 24 months.

Monthly figures

MonthExportsvs year earlierExport weightExport $/kg ImportsImport weight
October 2026$849.3M+50.8%332,656 t $2.55$702.9M237,932 t
September 2026$809.0M+9.8%314,297 t $2.57$711.0M248,172 t
August 2026$713.7M+12.4%270,802 t $2.64$647.9M239,705 t
July 2026$934.6M+21.2%389,537 t $2.40$686.0M241,970 t
June 2026$806.5M+15.8%317,306 t $2.54$711.4M266,294 t
May 2026$711.4M-3.7%296,771 t $2.40$632.4M236,574 t
April 2026$760.3M-16.9%312,047 t $2.44$676.2M253,320 t
March 2026$690.6M-16.9%278,766 t $2.48$627.5M221,134 t
February 2026$568.6M-23.5%221,130 t $2.57$573.7M196,501 t
January 2026$793.9M-0.8%260,355 t $3.05$590.1M208,495 t
December 2025$718.3M-12.8%301,506 t $2.38$725.1M269,599 t
November 2025$672.5M-18.9%239,833 t $2.80$565.4M203,774 t
October 2025$563.3M-35.8%201,664 t $2.79$577.8M196,363 t
September 2025$736.5M-6.8%255,192 t $2.89$667.8M234,846 t
August 2025$634.9M-17.6%210,078 t $3.02$619.0M222,491 t
July 2025$771.4M-3.7%264,213 t $2.92$651.3M232,327 t
June 2025$696.3M-14.5%260,400 t $2.67$630.5M225,028 t
May 2025$738.7M-17.8%273,036 t $2.71$637.8M246,500 t
April 2025$914.5M+1.9%336,574 t $2.72$699.6M262,251 t
March 2025$831.4M-1.9%324,309 t $2.56$905.4M269,937 t
February 2025$743.7M-0.8%281,459 t $2.64$587.4M227,414 t
January 2025$799.9M-1.0%279,252 t $2.86$769.4M268,305 t
December 2024$823.4M+10.9%297,122 t $2.77$868.4M264,660 t
November 2024$829.4M+1.0%313,336 t $2.65$840.0M235,642 t

Exports FOB, imports CIF, US dollars. Weight is net weight. "vs year earlier" compares export value with the same month one year before and is left blank when that month was under $10,000. Source: Korea Customs Service, via data.go.kr.