In May this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved up by 17.6 percent compared to the previous month and by 5.8 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 413,322 metric tons. 50.4 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 49.6 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 0.4 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 660,459 metric tons, and were down by 1.4 percent year on year. 73.3 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 26.7 percent were held by steel traders.
In May, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 409,063 mt, up by 3.1 percent month on month and by 7.1 percent year on year.