In April this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved down by 14.8 percent compared to the previous month and by 0.3 percent on a year-on-year basis, amounting to 347,530 metric tons. 56.5 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 43.5 percent were made to the export markets, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data.
Meanwhile, in the given month, Japan’s CR sheet and strip inventories decreased by 1.7 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 640,200 metric tons, and were down by 3.1 percent year on year. 74.0 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 26.0 percent were held by steel traders.
In April, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 336,307 mt, down by 11.8 percent month on month and by 14.6 percent year on year.