In August this year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments decreased by 3.1 percent on month-on-month basis, following a three months of increase. While the country's CR sheet and strip shipments amounted to 592,950 metric tons in August, 46.88 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 53.12 percent were made to the export markets, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data.
Meanwhile, in August, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories increased by 2.9 percent over the previous month, reaching 753,010 metric tons, and were up 13.06 percent year on year. 71.05 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 28.95 percent were held by steel traders.
The average domestic price for CR sheet and strip in Japan in August was JPY 86,000/mt ($1,121/mt), decreasing JPY 1,000/mt ($13.04/mt) or 1.15 percent as compared to the previous month, and down 2.27 percent year on year from JPY 88,000/mt.
In the month in question, Japan's CR sheet and strip output totaled 614,424 metric tons, increasing by 6.41 percent over July and up 3.19 percent year on year.