Japan Steel Coastal Shipping Drops by 6 in F2011

Japanese steel shipment by coastal shipping decreased by 6% to 43.567 million tonnes in fiscal 2011 ended March 2012 from fiscal 2011, according to Japan Federation of Coastal Shipping Associations. The shipment represented year-on-year decrease every month other than October and March due to weak demand for construction and home appliance and aftermath of the major earthquake.

The total coastal shipping decreased by 1% to 202.122 million tonnes in fiscal 2011 from fiscal 2010. The shipping decreased by 2% to 54.185 million tonnes for raw material including limestone and by 1% to 9.367 million tonnes for coal and coke. The automobile shipment increased by 3% to 40.922 million tonnes.

The steel shipment increased by 3% to 3.96 million tonnes in March from a year earlier. The shipment represented year-on-year increase for the first time in 5 months and marked the record in fiscal 2011. The shipment increased due to higher automobile output and seasonal factor. The total coastal shipping increased by 16% to 18.907 million tonnes. The automobile shipping increased by 84% to 4.922 million tonnes.