In the first five months of this year, Japan's galvanized sheet output amounted to 5.02 million mt, up 2.28 percent compared to the same period of 2013. In May, the country's galvanized sheet output increased by 10.67 percent compared to April and was up 2.87 percent year on year, amounting to 1.04 million mt, according to data from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
In the first five months of the current year, Japan's galvanized sheet shipments increased by 0.77 percent year on year to 4.95 million metric tons, while 71 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, and the remaining 29 percent were made to the export markets. In May this year, Japan's galvanized sheet shipments amounted to 987,005 mt, increasing by 6.6 percent compared to April, but down 2.64 percent from the same month last year.
Meanwhile, in May Japan's galvanized sheet inventories rose 4.94 percent month on month to 1.08 million metric tons, and were up 9.7 percent year on year. 61 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 39 percent were held by steel traders.