In September this year, Japan’s cold rolled sheet and strip shipments moved up by 2.1 percent compared to the previous month and decreased by 11.9 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 384,477 metric tons. 54.4 percent of shipments were made to the domestic market, while the remaining 45.6 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 6.1 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 657,570 metric tons, and were down by 3.9 percent year on year. 72.9 percent of inventories were held by steel manufacturers, while 27.1 percent were held by steel traders.
In September, Japan’s CR sheet and strip production amounted to 341,494 mt, down by 21.5 percent month on month and by 13.2 percent year on year.