Japan Carbon Steel Order Drops by 8.3% in January

Japan Iron and Steel Federation announced on Monday Japanese carbon steel order receipt decreased by 8.3% to 5.791 million tonnes in January from a year earlier. The order decreased for 4 months in a row. The domestic order decreased by 5.9% to 3.591 million tonnes, which decreased for the first time in 2 months. The order for export decreased by 11.9% to 2.2 million tonnes, which decreased for 5 months in a row.

The domestic order was firm for automobile in January compared with a year earlier level but the order has decreased for electrical equipment and shipbuilding. The order for export was more than 2 million tonnes per month for 2 months in a row through January due to recovery from Thai flood impact.

The domestic order decreased by 2.8% to 848,000 tonnes for construction in January from a year earlier. The order decreased by 8.9% to 1.675 million tonnes for manufacturing.

The order increased by 9.6% to 207,000 tonnes for civil engineering in January from a year earlier. The order decreased by 6.9% to 452,000 tonnes for building.

The order increased by 2.5% to 820,000 tonnes for automobile in January from a year earlier. The order decreased by 24.9% to 321,000 tonnes for shipbuilding. The order decreased by 15.4% to 116,000 tonnes for electrical equipment.