Special Steel Demand Rebounds in Japan

Japanese domestic demand for special steel products is rebounding. Domestic order receipts for special steels increased by 19.1% to 1.467 million tonnes in November 2009 from a year earlier, according to Japan Steel & Iron Federation. The order receipts recovered to 85% level compared with the peak in July 2008. Domestic car production is increasing and special steel export keeps the record high level. A special steel maker source said the demand trend upturned again in East Asia.

The order receipts for domestic demand decreased by 4.5% to 925,462 tonnes in November from a year earlier. The volume increased by 6.2% to 322,851 tonnes for automobiles. On the other hand, the volume decreased by 32.6% to 82,204 tonnes for industrial machines.

The order receipts hit the peak at 1.725 million tonnes in July 2008, 1.242 million tonnes of which was for domestic demand and 482,520 tonnes for export. Compared with this peak, the order receipts in November 2009 was lower by 18.9% for automobiles, by 24% for secondary processes and by 49.2% for industrial machines.

Japanese special steel export increased by 106.4% to 541,994 tonnes in November 2009 from a year earlier. The exprot increased by 12.3% even compared with the peak. The export is expected to total 6.5 million tonnes through fiscal 2009, higher than the recent peak at 5.73 million tonnes in fiscal 2006. A large dealer source said the demand is strong for motorcycles or construction machines at overseas. The export would keep high when East Asian economy is steadily growing and Japanese manufacturers select Japanese special steels.