In the first 11 months of last year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip output decreased by 0.66 percent year on year to 5.99 million metric tons, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. Meanwhile, in the given period the country's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments increased by 0.31 percent on year-on-year basis to 6.01 million metric tons, while 50 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the other 50 percent were made to the export markets.
In January-November period of last year, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories decreased by 4.59 percent year on year to 7.18 million metric tons. 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 first 11 months last year was JPY 78,270/mt ($750/mt), down JPY 4,000/mt ($38/mt) compared to the same period of 2012.