According to statistics released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF), Japan’s shipments of cold rolled (CR) sheets and strips totaled 496,022 tons in last December, rising by 2.8% from a month ago while falling by 5.6% year on year. In last December, the country’s stocks of CR sheets and strips totaled 663,442 tons, decreasing by 4.6% from a month ago while rising by 0.4% year on year. 69% were hold by steelmakers and 31% were hold by traders. Meanwhile, Japan’s prices of CR sheets and strips averaged at ¥78,000/ton in the fourth quarter of 2012, falling by ¥4,000/ton from a quarter ago and decreasing by ¥8,000/ton year on year. In 2012, Japan’s shipments of CR sheets and strips totaled 6.5 million tons, down by 6% year on year. Among them, 52% were shipped to domestic market and 48% were made to overseas markets.
