In September this year, Japan's industrial production increased 1.3 percent from the previous month, while output increased by 5.1 percent from September in the previous year, according to the revised indices of the Industrial Production report published by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
In the third quarter this year, the Japanese iron and steel production index increased by 0.3 percent compared to the third quarter of 2012, while the seasonally adjusted iron and steel production index fell 2.4 percent compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter this year, Japanese producers' iron and steel shipments fell by 0.1 percent and iron and steel inventories were up by 3.6 percent, both compared to the previous quarter.
On the other hand, in September the Japanese iron and steel production index increased by 3.9 percent year on year, while Japan's seasonally adjusted iron and steel production index rose 1.4 percent in September compared to August. Meanwhile, in September Japanese producers' iron and steel shipments increased by 2.5 percent and iron and steel inventories were down by 2.3 percent, both compared to the previous month.
In September of the current year, Japanese seasonally adjusted crude steel production, including semi-finished steel, decreased 0.5 percent compared to the previous month, while the index was up 3.5 percent on year-on-year basis. Producers' crude steel shipments in September were up by 4.6 percent compared to the previous month and increased by 7.4 percent compared to the same month last year.
