In September this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments mostly remained stable compared to the previous month and decreased by 0.7 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 409,446 metric tons. 46.3 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 53.7 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 5.5 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 642,859 metric tons, and were down by 13.4 percent year on year. 70.3 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 29.7 percent were held by steel traders.
In September, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 372,142 mt, down by 13.8 percent month on month and up by 2.6 percent year on year.