In June this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved down by 10.7 percent compared to the previous month and up by 4.9 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 366,675 metric tons. 53.4 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 46.6 percent were made to the export markets, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) data.
Meanwhile, in the given month, Japan’s CR sheet and strip inventories went down by 0.5 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 658,133 metric tons, and were down by 3.8 percent year on year. 74 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 26 percent were held by steel traders.
In June, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 363,100 mt, down by 10.1 percent month on month and 0.2 percent year on year.