In the January this year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments decreased by 1.6 percent on year-on-year basis to 528,741 metric tons, up 3.08 percent compared to the previous month, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. 59.3 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the remaining 40.7 percent were made to the export markets.
Meanwhile, in January, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories increased by 3.5 percent from the previous month to 751,126 metric tons and were up 10.1 percent year on year. 72 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 28 percent were held by steel traders.
The domestic price for CR sheet and strip in Japan in January this year was JPY 78,000/mt ($645/mt), down JPY 100/mt ($0.8/mt) compared to January 2014.
In the given month, Japan's CR sheet and strip output totaled 553,981 metric tons, rising by a slight margin of 0.16 percent year on year.
$1 = JPY 120