According to data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), Japan’s shipments of cold rolled (CR) sheets and strips totaled 581,489 tons in May, rising by 3% year on year and increasing by 19% from the previous month.
Also, the shipments reached the highest level since March, 2012.
Among them, 44.5% of shipments were made to domestic market while the remaining 55.5% were made to export markets.
In May, the inventories of CR sheets and strips totaled 668,324 tons, falling by 2.1% month on month but rising by 1.2% year on year. Among them, 70% were held by steel manufacturers and 30% were owned by steel traders.
Besides, the domestic prices for CR sheets and strips averaged at ¥78,000/ton in May, keeping flat from the previous month while falling by ¥4,000/ton year on year.
