Japan Carbon Steel Stock Rises by 0.3% in November

Japanese carbon steel inventory for domestic market decreased by 1.9% or 106,000 tonnes to 5.523 million tonnes at end of November from October, which decreased for the first time in 2 months, according to Japan Iron and Steel Federation. The inventory for export increased by 12.8% or 129,000 tonnes to 1.134 million tonnes. The total inventory increased by 0.3% or 23,000 tonnes to 6.657 million tonnes. The inventory increased by 4.4 percentage points to 95.2% for shipment. Japanese steel makers’ steel inventory increased by 1.0% to 5.182 million tonnes in November from October while the distributors’ inventory decreased by 1.9% to 1.475 million tonnes. The inventory increased for 2 months in a row for steel makers while the stock decreased for 2 months for the distributors. The steel inventory decreased by 67,000 tonnes to 1.741 million tonnes for strip with more than 600 millimeters width in November from October. The inventory decreased by 15,000 tonnes to 661,000 tonnes for flat steel, by 11,000 tonnes to 84,000 tonnes for cold rolled electrical steel and by 11,000 tonnes to 16,000 tonnes for rail.