In 2014, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments decreased by 3.2 percent on year-on-year basis to 6.32 million metric tons, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. 54 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the remaining 46 percent were made to the export markets. Meanwhile, in December 2014, the country's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments decreased by 2.22 percent month on month and were down 1.4 percent year on year, totaling 514,680 metric tons.
Meanwhile, in December last year, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories decreased by 1.11 percent from the previous month to 726,802 metric tons, and were up 12 percent year on year. 72 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 28 percent were held by steel traders.
The average domestic price for CR sheet and strip in Japan in 2014 was JPY 78,830/mt ($672/mt), up JPY 500/mt ($4.26/mt) compared to the average price in 2013.
In 2014, Japan's CR sheet and strip output totaled 6.4 million metric tons, decreasing by 1.8 percent year on year.
$1 = JPY 117.3