Weak Plate Market Price at 86,000 Yen/t around Tokyo

Plate market price is weak around Tokyo at 86,000 yen per tonne for standard size products with 5 millimeters thickness, 5 feet width and 10 feet length and 97,000-98,000 yen for cut processed material. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing announced the firm lowers its plate selling price by 5,000 yen to 70,000 yen for dealers and to 71,000 yen for general contractors effective for November contracts. Dealers are keeping their reselling prices while the market mood turned weak.

Some integrated steel makers seemed to sell steel plate at 75,000 yen against cheap imports a week ago. Tokyo Steel is said to have decided the price down when integrated steels had offered low price and ferrous scrap market price had decreased by 5,000 yen per tonne or more this month.

Domestic demand is firm from construction machine and industrial machine industries as well as truck makers. Domestic shipment of construction machine increased by 19.3% to 178.2 billion yen in August from a year earlier, according to Japan Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association. The shipment for domestic market represented year-to-year plus for 5 straight months while the shipment for overseas market kept year-to-year plus for 20 consecutive months. Thus shearing processors maintain high operating rate.

Large size building constructions are also starting around Tokyo. Bridge construction is expected to increase in fiscal 2011 ending in March 2012 from 280,000 tonnes in fiscal 2010. Steel plate usage would also increase for reconstruction of disaster areas in North Japan. Steel plate dealers are trying to keep the reselling price level with an expectation for demand recovery.

Dealers’ sales volume increased by 3,864 tonnes to 32,361 tonnes in September from August around Tokyo while the inventory volume increased by 5,073 tonnes to 54,468 tonnes, according to the local dealers’ association. The supply and demand balance is not loose along with demand upturn.