Japan H-Beam Stock Drops Slightly in December

Nippon Steel announced on Tuesday distributors’ H-beam inventory held by member of Tokiwa-kai, which is group of distributors dealing Nippon Steel’s H-beam, decreased by 0.1% to 256,700 tonnes at the end of December from previous month. The stock decreased for 9 months in a row. The stock represented 1.8 months of shipment. The stock is expected to keep the level under firm demand.The distributors’ shipment decreased by 5.6% to 142,600 tonnes in December from November due to fewer operating days under yearend holiday. However, the arrivals from makers decreased by 9.4% in Tokyo and by 11.3% in Nagoya when the makers reduced the shipment. The stock balance was almost unchanged with lower shipment and arrivals. H-beam market condition is firm both at home and abroad since autumn 2006. Tokiwa-kai members’ shipment was more than 50,000 tonnes both in October and November. The market price is expected to increase for construction materials including bar, angle and channel due to higher ferrous scrap price. H-beam market price is unchanged in some areas including Tokyo even after the makers increased the selling price by 2,000 yen per tonne in autumn. Nippon Steel expects the distributors can secure margin enough for the profitability. The firm left the price unchanged with restricted shipment for distributors.