In the first month this year, Japan's cold rolled sheet and strip output increased by 3.56 percent year on year to 555,783 metric tons, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data. Meanwhile, in the given month the country's cold rolled sheet and strip shipments increased by 3.67 percent on year-on-year basis to 523,014 metric tons, while 55 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the other 45 percent were made to the export markets.
In January this year, Japan's CR sheet and strip inventories decreased by 1.97 percent year on year to 681,907 metric tons. 72 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 28 percent were held by steel traders.
The average domestic price for CR sheet and strip in Japan in January this year was JPY 79,000/mt ($766/mt), down JPY 1,000/mt ($9.72/mt) compared to the same period of 2012.