In September this year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments amounted to 543,465 metric tons, increasing slightly by 0.4 percent month on month and down by eight percent on year-on-year basis, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. In the third quarter of the year, the country's CR sheet and strip shipments totaled 1.66 million mt, while 49 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the remaining 51 percent were made to the export markets.
Meanwhile, in September, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, to 695,131 metric tons, down 6.76 percent year on year. 70 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 30 percent were held by steel traders.
The average domestic price for CR sheet and strip in Japan in the third quarter of the year was JPY 82,000/mt ($1,022/mt), stable compared to the previous quarter and down JPY 4,000/mt ($49.9/mt) year on year.
In the quarter in question, Japan's CR sheet and strip output totaled 1.7 million metric tons, increasing by 4.2 percent over the previous quarter and down 5.2 percent year on year.