In November last year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved down by five percent compared to the previous month and decreased by 4.6 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 357,935 metric tons. 52.8 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 47.2 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 up by 2.4 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 678,636 metric tons, and increased by 3.3 percent year on year. 74.3 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 25.7 percent were held by steel traders.
In November, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 373,678 mt, decreasing by 1.9 percent month on month and up by 4.6 percent year on year.