According to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Association (JISF), steel product orders, including specialty steels, booked by domestic steel consuming sectors in Japan in December last year amounted to 8 million metric tons, increasing by 5.38 percent compared to November and up 6.59 percent year on year. Last year, domestic steel product orders in Japan increased by 2.80 percent to 91.02 million metric tons, compared to 2012.
In 2013, steel product orders in Japan booked by the domestic construction sector increased by 10.66 percent to 12.87 million mt, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector came to 13.01 million metric tons, increasing by 1.06 percent, both including special steel and on year-on-year basis. Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 3.75 million metric tons of steel products last year, down 8.44 percent compared to 2012.