Japanese crude steel demand to rise 2.8 percent in Q3

According to the Japanese Ministry of Trade (METI), Japanese demand for crude steel in the third quarter of the current year is expected total 28 million mt, unchanged from the third quarter output forecast made in the second quarter, with an expected increase of 2.8 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012.
 
Total demand for Japanese steel, including exports, is expected to reach 24.4 million mt in the third quarter, up 2.1 percent from the estimated data for the previous quarter, and up 1.3 percent compared to the third quarter of 2012. Of the estimated third quarter demand, exports are expected to account for 8.75 million mt, up 2.7 percent year on year and rising by 0.4 percent compared with the estimate for the previous quarter.
 
Meanwhile, of the total demand in the third quarter, 19.5 million mt is expected to be for ordinary steel, rising 1.8 percent year on year and up 2.1 percent from the estimated data for the previous quarter, while 5 million mt of demand is expected to be for special steel, down 0.6 percent year on year and up 2.2 percent from the estimated data for the second quarter this year.
 
The ministry announced that in the third quarter demand from the domestic construction sector will increase on year-on-year basis due to an increase in housing construction amid last-minute demand before a consumption tax hike and as a result of other factors in the architecture sector. Meanwhile, manufacturers' steel demand will decrease from the same quarter of the previous year due to a decrease in the demand for shipbuilding, while the decline in demand is currently being eased due to an increase in export ship contracts.