Firm Plate Price in Tokyo

Plate market price is firm at 80,000 yen per tonne for products with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length around Tokyo. The price is more than 95,000 yen with cutting process. The price is expected to keep firm with tight supply condition. The demand keeps firm for shipbuilding and manufacturers. The manufacturers will increase the activity. However, the building and distributors market is slow due to delay of building construction activity. Domestic makers’ rolling schedule is still tight. The makers apparently cannot meet the delivery schedule for some spot orders. The supply is expected to get tighter when construction works starts for Haneda airport expansion. A shearing processor said the processors concern the availability and they would miss the order due to the supply from integrated steel makers. Japanese plate import is low level and is expected to keep low due to tax return cancel by Chinese government.