Japan Carbon Steel Order Hits First Drop in 3 Months

Japanese carbon steel order receipt decreased by 5.0% to 5.557 million tonnes in October from a year earlier, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Monday. The order decreased for the first time in 3 months. The domestic order increased by 6.2% to 3.828 million tonnes due to the demand recovery for automobile and industrial machinery. However, the order for export decreased by 22.9% to 1.729 million tonnes, which hit the lowest volume since May 2009. The order decreased due to the slow market price in Asia and impact of the flood in Thailand.

The domestic order increased by 3.1% to 1.92 million tonnes for manufacturing in October from a year earlier. The order increased by 9.8% to 874,000 tonnes for construction.

The order increased by 13.0% to 898,000 tonnes for automobile in October from a year earlier. The order increased by 10.2% to 156,000 tonnes for industrial machinery. However, the order decreased by 9.8% to 440,000 tonnes for shipbuilding due to slow new building order. The order decreased by 7.9% to 119,000 tonnes for electrical equipment, which decreased for 9 months in a row.

The order increased by 6.9% to 472,000 tonnes for building in October from a year earlier. The order increased by 11.9% to 212,000 tonnes for civil engineering. The order also increased by 15.1% to 190,000 tonnes for other construction.