Japan Dealers’ Carbon Steel Inventory Drops by 1.2% in April

Japanese carbon steel inventory held by the dealers and processors decreased by 1.2% or 34,000 tonnes to 2.734 million tonnes at the end of April from March, according to Japan Iron and Steel Federation. The stock decreased for the first time in 2 months. The inventory rate increased by 1.7 percentage points to 104.4% of the shipment, which marked more than 100% for 17 months in a row.

The stock decreased for hot rolled flat steel, cold rolled flat steel, galvanized steel, plate and steel pipe at the end of April from March. The stock increased for small bar and H-beam.

The shipment increased by 13.9% or 319,000 tonnes to 2.62 million tonnes in April from a year earlier, which increased for 7 months in a row. The shipment decreased by 2.8% or 76,000 tonnes from March, which decreased for the first time in 3 months.