According to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Association (JISF), steel product orders, including specialty steels, booked by domestic steel consuming sectors in Japan in January of the current year amounted to 7.4 million metric tons, decreasing by one percent compared to December last year and up 0.6 percent year on year.
In January this year, ordinary steel product orders in Japan booked by the domestic construction sector increased by 10 percent month on month to 1 million metric tons - up 19 percent year on year, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector, including specialty steel, amounted to 1 million metric tons, rising by four percent as compared to the previous month and down 12.9 percent year on year. Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 275,770 metric tons of ordinary steel products in January, decreasing 8.8 percent month on month and down 14.4 percent as compared to the same month of 2012.
Meanwhile, in the whole of 2012 domestic steel consuming sectors in Japan booked 88.5 million metric tons steel products, including specialty steels, increasing by one percent year on year. Ordinary steel product orders in Japan booked by the domestic construction sector increased by eight percent year on year to 11 million metric tons, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector, including specialty steel, amounted to 12.9 million metric tons, rising by two percent year on year. Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 4 million metric tons of ordinary steel products in 2012, decreasing 22 percent as compared to 2011.