Japan Carbon Steel Order Increases by 7.2% in January

Japanese carbon steel order increased by 7.2% to 6.312 million tonnes in January from a year earlier, which represented more than 6 million tonnes for 2 months in a row, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Friday. The order for domestic shipment increased by 8.7% to 3.815 million tonnes. The export order increased by 4.9% to 2.497 million tonnes. The order for automobile, which decreased from a year earlier due to end of subsidy for eco-friendly car, increased from December. The order for building kept increase trend in year to year basis.

The carbon steel order for construction increased by 9.0% to 873,000 tonnes in January from a year earlier, which increased for 3 months in a row. The order increased by 14.4% to 485,000 tonnes for building while the order decreased by 5.9% to 189,000 tonnes for civil engineering. The order increased by 13.0% to 199,000 tonnes for other construction applications.

The order for manufacturing increased by 0.2% to 1.84 million tonnes in January from a year earlier. The order for industrial machinery increased by 32.7% increase to 148,000 tonnes. The order for manufacturers increased all applications except for automobile and rolling stock.

The order for dealers increased by 26.5% to 1.103 million tonnes in January from a year earlier when the dealers expected higher steel market price under higher raw material cost.