Japan's Shipments of CR Sheets and Strips in April,Falling by 18.4% From a Month Ago

According to data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), Japan's shipments of cold rolled (CR) sheets and strips totaled488, 885 tons in April, falling by 18.4% from a month ago and decreasing by 5.3% year on year. Among them, 49.7% were made to domestic market and the remaining 50.3% were to the export markets. Meanwhile, the inventories of CR sheets and strips totaled 682,878 tons in April, up by 1.5% year on year, including 70.9% held by steelmakers and 29.1% owned by steel traders. In April, the domestic prices for CR sheets and strips averaged at ¥78,000/ton, keeping unchanged from a month ago but falling by ¥4,000/ton year on year. Besides, the country's output of CR sheets and strips totaled 526,603 tons, down by 11.2% from a month ago but rising by 4.2% year on year.