Japan's galvanized sheet shipments up 16 percent in August from July

In the first eight months of this year, Japan's galvanized sheet output amounted to 7.9 million mt, up 1.7 percent compared to the same period of 2013. In August, the country's galvanized sheet output increased by 0.6 percent compared to July but was down 1.5 percent year on year, amounting to 968,138 mt, according to data from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
 
In the first eight months of the current year, Japan's galvanized sheet shipments decreased by 0.9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The country's galvanized sheet shipments amounted to 7.77 million metric tons, while 60 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market and the remaining 40 percent were made to the export markets. In August this year, Japan's galvanized sheet shipments amounted to 839,497 mt, down 15.9 compared to July, and down 10.7 percent from the same month last year.
 
Meanwhile, in August Japan's galvanized sheet inventories increased by 13.1 percent month on month to 1.14 million metric tons, and were up 25.1 percent year on year. 62 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 39 percent were held by steel traders.