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 November 2009 amounted to 5.46 million metric tons, decreasing by 10.52 percent compared to October and up 21 percent year on year.
In November, steel product orders in Japan, including specialty steels, booked by the domestic construction sector decreased by 10.4 percent compared to October, to 797,657 metric tons, while the year-on-year decrease was 13.35 percent. Meanwhile, steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector reached 1.11 million metric tons, down 6.71 percent compared to October but up 8.21 percent year on year. Finally, Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 429,774 metric tons of steel products during the month in question, down 13.77 percent month on month and decreasing 2.93 percent year on year.
