Japan, Column Steel Demand Decreases by 3.3% in July-September

Japanese domestic demand for large diameter column steel is expected to decrease by 3.3% to 140,000-150,000 tonnes for July-September from the same period of 2007, according to a major column steel maker source. The demand will continue downtrend since last year due to slow building constructions. However, the demand is recovering compared with April-June, when the demand decreased by 13.3% year-on-year. The demand will decrease by 8.3% for April-September from the corresponding period of 2007.The impact by the revision of Japanese building standard law will settle down for July-September. But small-middle steel frame building construction keeps low due to slow sales of condominiums. Large diameter column steel comes under the influence of cessation or deferment for condominium building construction when the steel is used mainly for small-middle size buildings with floor area below 2,000 square meters. Meanwhile, the demand for the steel for large size with 450 millimeters width keeps firm when the steel is used mainly for large buildings with floor area over 7,000 square meters.The annual demand will increase by 2-3% to 540,000-550,000 tonnes through fiscal 2008 (Apr08-Mar09) from fiscal 2007 when the demand deceased in fiscal 2007 due to the revision of Japanese building standard law. Large size building construction is expected to increase for condominiums or supermarkets while small-middle size building construction is slow.