Japan H-beam Demand Increases by 4% in the first half of F2010

Japanese H-beam demand is forecasted at approximately 1.4 million tonnes in the second half of fiscal 2010 (October 2010- March 2011), increasing by 4% from the first half year and by 5% from the corresponding period of fiscal 2009, according to Japanese integrated steel maker source. The demand hasn’t improved since many construction projects have been postponed. New building construction plans are also slow. The demand is unexpected to recover within fiscal 2010.

Annual demand is estimated at approximately 2.7 million tonnes or less for fiscal 2010, increasing by 2% from fiscal 2009. Quarterly demand is forecasted at 700,000 tonnes or less for October-December and January-March. H-beam demand seasonally shrinks in January-March while the demand is expected not to decrease in fiscal 2010 due to slight uptrend.

Steel frame demand is forecasted to exceed 4 million tonnes in fiscal 2010, increasing by 4% from fiscal 2009. The demand seems to have increased by 7% to 1.019 million tonnes for April-June 2010 from the corresponding period of fiscal 2009.

H-beam demand hit the peak at 6.9 million tonnes in fiscal 1990. The demand dropped to 3.3 million tonnes after bubble economy’s collapse while recovered to 4.1 million tonnes in fiscal 2006. After world economy deterioration, the demand declined to 3.6 million tonnes in fiscal 2008 and 2.6 million tonnes in fiscal 2009.