According to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Association, ordinary steel product orders booked by domestic steel consuming sectors in Japan in August this year amounted to 5.49 million metric tons, rising by 1.8 percent compared to August 2009 and down 4.84 percent month on month.
In August this year, ordinary steel product orders in Japan booked by the domestic construction sector slightly increased by 0.28 percent month on month to 766,812 metric tons - down 9.5 percent year on year, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector reached 875,063 metric tons, rising by 2.31 percent as compared to July this year and up 12.88 percent year on year. Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 407,014 metric tons of ordinary steel products in August, declining by 14.25 percent month on month and down 0.84 percent as compared to the same month of 2009.