In the first half of this year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments decreased by 0.46 percent on year-on-year basis to 3.25 million metric tons, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. 52 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the remaining 48 percent were made to the export markets. Meanwhile, in June, the country's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments increased by 11.01 percent month on month and rose 1.42 percent year on year, totaling 561,167 metric tons.
Meanwhile, in June this year, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories decreased by 6.9 percent from the previous month to 651,503 metric tons, and were down 0.45 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 first six months of this year was JPY 79,000/mt ($766/mt), up JPY 1,000/mt ($9.70/mt) compared to the average price in the first half of the previous year.
In the first half this year, Japan's CR sheet and strip output totaled 3.25 million metric tons, decreasing by 0.1 percent year on year.