In October this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved down by 8.4 percent compared to the previous month and by 2.9 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 400,060 metric tons. 54.2 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 45.8 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 1.6 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 673,606 metric tons, and were up by 3.3 percent year on year. 73.7 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 26.3 percent were held by steel traders.
In October, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 389,037 mt, down by 1.2 percent month on month and by 7.3 percent year on year.