Japan Carbon Steel Wire Rod Output Drops by 6% in 1H

Japanese carbon steel wire rod output decreased by 6.1% to 538,000 tonnes in April-September from same period of 2006, according to Japan Wire Products Association. The output decreased apparently due to slower construction demand while the makers try to increase the output for automobile and other firm demand applications. The output decreased by 7.2% to 90,000 tonnes in September from a year earlier. The carbon steel wire rod import decreased by 41.7% to 81,560 tonnes in April-September from same period of 2006, according to Ministry of Finance. The import from China, which represents most of Japanese import, decreased by 39.1% to 75,886 tonnes after Chinese government’s effort to reduce steel export.