Japan's galvanized sheet output down 1.55 percent in Jan-Nov

In the first 11 months of last year, Japan's galvanized sheet output amounted to 10.83 million mt, down 1.55 percent compared to same period of 2012. In November, the country's galvanized sheet output decreased by 4.10 percent compared to October and was up 5.87 percent year on year, amounting to 987,901 mt, according to data from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
 
In the first 11 months of 2013, Japan's galvanized sheet shipments decreased by 1.60 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The country's galvanized sheet shipments amounted to 10.87 million metric tons, while 69 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, and the remaining 31 percent were made to the export markets. In November last year, Japan's galvanized sheet shipments amounted to 1.01 million mt, increasing by 0.26 percent compared to October and up 4.27 percent from the same month of last year.
 
Meanwhile, in November Japan's galvanized sheet inventories fell 2.30 percent month on month to 955,390 metric tons, and were down 3.54 percent year on year. 66 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 34 percent were held by steel traders.