According to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Association, steel product orders, including specialty steels, booked by domestic steel consuming sectors in Japan in October this year amounted to 7.56 million metric tons, increasing by 6.17 percent compared to September and up 0.56 percent year on year. This is the largest amount of orders registered since September 2008.
In October, steel product orders in Japan, including specialty steels, booked by the domestic construction sector decreased by 0.65 percent compared to September, to 890,262 metric tons, while the year-on-year decrease was 17.92 percent. Meanwhile, steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector continued their rise which began in February this year, reaching 1.19 million metric tons, up 9.88 percent compared to September and down 10.36 percent year on year. Finally, Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 498,400 metric tons of steel products during the month in question, up 8.89 percent month on month, but down 0.43 percent year on year.
