Japan Steel Order Drops by 43.1% in February

Japanese steel makers’ order receipt decreased by 43.1% to 3.879 million tonnes in January from a year earlier, which decreased for 6 consecutive months, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Tuesday. The order fell to below 4 million tonnes for the first time since February 1969. The minus range was record wide.

The order decreased by 48.2% to 1.095 million tonnes for export in February from a year earlier. The order from domestic buyers decreased to by 40.3% to 2.774 million tonnes, among which the order decreased by 45.9% to 1.284 million tonnes from manufacturers.