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 May this year amounted to 7.5 million metric tons, decreasing by one percent compared to April and up 0.3 percent year on year.
In May, ordinary steel product orders in Japan booked by the domestic construction sector increased by 6.2 percent year on year, amounting to 931,484 mt, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector, including specialty steel, came to 1.1 million metric tons, falling by 8.8 percent as compared to the same month last year. Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 294,468 metric tons of ordinary steel products in May, down 19.5 percent as compared to the same month of 2012.