In April this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved down by 18.5 percent compared to the previous month and went up by 9.4 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 364,571 metric tons. 53.8 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 46.2 percent were made to the export markets, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data.
Meanwhile, in the given month, Japan’s CR sheet and strip inventories decreased by 1.7 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 676,119 metric tons, and were down by 1.6 percent year on year. 70.7 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 29.3 percent were held by steel traders.
In April, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 355,688 mt, down by 8.7 percent month on month and increasing by 8.9 percent year on year.