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 April this year amounted to 7.7 million metric tons, decreasing by two percent compared to the previous month and up nine percent year on year.
In April this year, ordinary steel product orders in
Japan booked by the domestic
construction sector decreased by 10 percent month on month to 955,714 metric tons - up five percent year on year, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese
automotive sector, including specialty steel, totaled 1.06 million metric tons, falling by four percent as compared to March and up 55 percent year on year.
Japan's
shipbuilding industry booked 383,488 metric tons of ordinary steel products in April, rising by six percent month on month and down 22 percent as compared to the same month of 2011.