According to the Japanese Ministry of Trade (METI), Japanese demand for crude steel in the second quarter of the current year is expected to decrease by 0.9 percent from the previous quarter to 26.4 million mt, with an expected decline of 4.1 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012.
Total demand for Japanese steel, including exports, is expected to be 23.5 million mt in the second quarter, down 2.3 percent from the estimated data for the previous quarter, due to a decrease in domestic demand and a decrease in exports of ordinary steel. Of the estimated second quarter demand, exports are expected to account for 8.8 million mt, up four percent year on year and falling by one percent compared with the estimate for the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, of the total demand in the sedonc quarter, 18.9 million mt is expected to be for ordinary steel, up 0.7 percent year on year and down 2.8 percent from the estimated data for the previous quarter, while 4.6 million mt of demand is expected to be for special steel, down 12.8 percent year on year and down 0.4 percent from the estimated data for the fourth quarter last year.
The ministry announced that in the second quarter demand from the domestic construction sector will increase on year-on-year basis due to an increase in public construction activities related to reconstruction of areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and due to the steady performance continuing in building activities. Meanwhile, manufacturers' steel demand will decrease from the previous quarter because of a decrease in domestic car sales due to seasonal factors and a decrease in shipbuilding, which is structurally in a state of oversupply.