Japan Stainless Flat Steel Order Drops by 0.8% in March

Japanese stainless steel makers received 0.8% lower order for stainless flat steel at 219,756 tonnes in March from a year earlier, Japan Stainless Steel Association. The order increased by 5.1% to 91,812 tonnes for chrome series stainless and decreased by 5.2% to 127,131 tonnes for nickel series.The order jumped from furniture and industrial machinery in March. The order from automobile increased by 16.3% from a year earlier with firm demand both for nickel and chrome series stainless. The order for kitchen applications decreased by 4.8% and the order for chemical machinery decreased by 14%.

See attached table.