In March this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved up by 24.6 percent compared to the previous month and went up by 3.0 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 455,906 metric tons. 45.9 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 54.1 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 8.0 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 683,436 metric tons, and were down by 1.6 percent year on year. 69.4 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 30.6 percent were held by steel traders.
In March, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 396,262 mt, down by 1.4 percent month on month and by 2.6 percent year on year.