Sumitomo Metals to Cut Domestic Sheet Supply for Dealers

Sumitomo Metal Industries started study to reduce order receipt of sheet steel from domestic distributors for October-December. The firm tries to improve the market condition by reducing inventory under the slump distributors’ market while the domestic demand keeps high for manufacturers when automakers keep high output level. The firm tries to find how much the firm should cut the order. Domestic hot, cold and coated sheet inventory is around normal level of 4 million tonnes after the stock decreased to 4.04 million tonnes at the end of June. However, the distributors’ spot market is dull when major sheet users increase the central purchasing and reduce spot purchasing. Sumitomo Metals tries to support the market by reducing the supply when the distributors could make loss if the market price would decrease more.