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 2012 amounted to 88.5 million metric tons, increasing by one percent compared to 2011.
In December of last year, ordinary steel product orders in Japan booked by the domestic construction sector decreased by 7.7 percent month on month to 919,631 metric tons - up 0.8 percent year on year, while steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector, including specialty steel, reached 967,957 metric tons, falling by 0.4 percent as compared to November last year and down 18.7 percent year on year. Japan's shipbuilding industry booked 302,473 metric tons of ordinary steel products in December, increasing by 7.7 percent month on month and down 24.7 percent as compared to the same month of 2011.
On year-on-year basis, the Japanese construction sector booked 28.9 million mt of ordinary steel in 2012, falling by 1.7 percent, while the domestic shipbuilding industry booked 4 million mt, down 21.9 percent. Meanwhile, steel product orders booked by the Japanese automotive sector, including specialty steel, reached 12.9 million metric tons, rising by 2.3 percent as compared to the previous year.