In July this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved up by 14.4 percent compared to the previous month and decreased by 2.8 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 415,928 metric tons. 49.9 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 50.1 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 went down by 2.8 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 641,088 metric tons, and were down by 3.9 percent year on year. 73.6 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 26.4 percent were held by steel traders.
In July, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 397,059 mt, up by 9.7 percent month on month and down by 3.4 percent year on year.