Japan Domestic Special Steel Order Hits Year-High in October

Japanese special steel order receipt was 1.128 million tonnes for domestic order in October, which hit the monthly high in 2011, according to Japan Iron and Steel Federation. The order was as high as 388,664 tonnes for automobile. The order was 45,041 tonnes for construction, which increased for 2 months in a row on month-to-month basis. The construction order would increase more for rebuilding activity in major earthquake damaged area. The order for export decreased by 9.3% to 515,190 tonnes from September, which decreased for 2 months in a row. The total order decreased by 1.8% to 1.643 million tonnes.

The domestic order increased by 3.6% to 18,390 tonnes for tool steel in October from September, which hit the monthly high in 2011. The order increased by 7.8% for structural steel, which also hit the monthly high. The bearing steel order was same as a month earlier level at 79,830 tonnes, which was near the monthly high of 80,000 tonnes in February. The order increased due to higher automotive parts output along with recovery in automobile output.