Japanese Carbon Steel Order Receipt Hits 4-Month High

Japanese steel makers’ carbon steel order receipt increased by 16.3% to 4.545 million tonnes in April from March due to the increase of export, which recovered 4 million tonnes level for the first time in 4 months, announced by Japan Iron & Steel Federation on Wednesday. The order decreased by 34.6% from a year earlier and showed year-to-year decrease for 9 straight months

The carbon steel order from domestic market decreased by 42.5% to 2.783 million tonnes in April from a year earlier, which was less than 3 million tonnes for 4 months in a row though it increased by 4.8% from March. The order for shipbuilding decreased by 3.5% from a year earlier, which showed the first year-to-year decrease in 25 months while the order for automobile decreased by 55.1%.

The order increased by 40.7% to 1.762 million tonnes for export in April from March. The order was 0.95 million tonnes in November 2008 and 1.03 million tonnes in December while it was 1.10 million tonnes in January and 1.23 million tonnes in February.