In the first 10 months of this year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments decreased by 1.12 percent on year-on-year basis, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. The country's CR sheet and strip shipments amounted to 5.45 million metric tons in the first 10 months, while 50 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and 50 percent were made to the export markets.
Meanwhile, in October this year, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories increased by 4.44 percent over the previous month, to 648,467 metric tons, and were down 5.09 percent year on year. 74 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 26 percent were held by steel traders.
The average domestic price for CR sheet and strip in Japan in the first 10 months this year was JPY 78,200/mt ($751/mt), down JPY 4,400/mt ($42/mt) compared to the first half average of the previous year.
In the period in question, Japan's CR sheet and strip output totaled 5.43 million metric tons, decreasing by 1.80 percent year on year.