Firm Plate Price in Tokyo

Plate steel price is firm at 80,000 yen per tonne for product with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length around Tokyo. The cut processed plate price is more than 95,000 yen. The price is expected to keep firm when distributors and shearing processors try to increase the selling price under tight supply. The demand keeps firm for shipbuilding and construction and industrial machinery. The demand for bridge and construction also recovers. Domestic plate makers manage to keep the delivery under the tight rolling schedule. They fail to keep the delivery schedule for some cases. The supply is expected to get tighter in January-March. The distributors’ market is relative slower for the tight supply after they already secured materials in advance with expectation of tighter supply and major buyers’ shift to direct order to plate makers. A distributor source said the supply is tight but they can get requirement. Other distributor said the supply cannot meet requirement for some projects immediately under tight supply.