In January this year, Japan’s industrial production went down by 7.5 percent month on month and fell 1.5 percent compared to the same month in 2023, according to the preliminary indices of the Industrial Production report published by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
On the other hand, in January the Japanese iron and steel production index increased by 1.0 percent year on year, while Japan’s seasonally adjusted iron and steel production index went down by 1.8 percent in the given month compared to December. Meanwhile, in January Japanese producers’ iron and steel shipments moved down by 5.5 percent and iron and steel inventories increased by 0.1 percent, both compared to the previous month.
According to the ministry’s Survey of Production Forecast in Manufacturing, Japanese industrial production is expected to increase by 4.8 percent in February and by 2.0 percent in March, both on month-on-month basis. Meanwhile, Japanese iron and steel production is expected to grow by 0.8 percent in February and shrink by 5.0 percent in March, month on month.