Weak Plate Steel Price in Tokyo

Plate steel market price continues to decrease at around 105,000 yen per tonne for standard sized products with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length and at around 110,000 yen for cut processed materials around Tokyo. The demand is low for building material, construction machinery and industrial machinery. The market price is likely to decline when the demand is expected to more decrease in July-September.

High-rise building construction is firm around Tokyo, but the demand for steel frame building is decreasing from last year in all Japan, which was below 6 million tonnes in 2008.

The demand for the machinery is more decreasing. Domestic machine makers are continuing to reduce the output by 70-80% from last year. Shearing processors’ operating rate maintains at 20%. Construction machinery export is expected to increase to such as China in the last half of fiscal 2009, but the recovery of the demand for component of construction machinery is expected to require time.

Dealers’ plate sales decreased to 13,432 tonnes by 65.5% in May from a year earlier, and of inventory increased to 77,038 tonnes by 30.3%. A shearing processor source said the sales is decreasing in June. Plate dealers’ inventory rate increased to 3-6 months for shipment.