Steel Plate Market Price Maintains Weak, Tokyo

Steel plate market price is weak around Tokyo. The current price is around 87,000 yen per tonne for standard size with 19 millimeters of thickness, 5 feet of width by 10 feet of length and around 95,000-100,000 yen per tonne for cut plate. The demand recovery is delayed from constructions, construction machines and industrial machines. Dealers’ shipment maintains slow. The market price may continue to decline more.

Construction related demand stays at the bottom due to low investment for condominiums and manufacturing industry’s plants. Civil engineering projects are likely to be postponed or suspended. A steel plate distributor around Tokyo said the demand for steel products couldn’t recover within fiscal 2009 ending in March 2010.

Plate orders also maintain low from industrial machine makers. Meanwhile, construction machine makers have almost finished inventory adjustment. The demand for cut plate is expected to rebound.

Distributors and shearing processors have minimized new orders to plate makers. The market inventory has shrunk other than architectural materials such as SN grade plates.