Japan Carbon Steel Order Shows Y/Y Drop for 2 Months

Japanese carbon steel order receipt decreased by 8.3% to 5.441 million tonnes in November from a year earlier, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Monday. The order represented year-to-year decrease for two months in a row. The order receipts for domestic market decreased by 2.1% to 3.634 million tonnes, which decreased for the first time in 4 months. The demand steadily improved from automobile and industrial machine industries while the order decreased by around 15% y/y from electric machine and shipbuilding industries. The order for export decreased by 18.7% to 1.807 million tonnes and represented below 2 million tonnes for three straight months. Asian steel market weakened and the demand was impacted by Thai flood.