Japan H-Beam Inventory Stays High Despite Decreasing

Nippon Steel announced on Tuesday Japanese distributors’ H-beam inventory held by Tokiwa-kai, which is a group of dealers dealing Nippon Steel’s products, decreased by 10.3% to 238,000 tonnes at the end of February from January. The inventory represented decrease for 3 months in a row. Nippon Steel explained the inventory decreased by makers’ output cut despite of slow shipment. The inventory to shipment rate lowered to 2.87 months from 3.03 months, which still kept high level. The firm judged makers should continue supply adjustment.

The inventory volume reached the level as low as February 2008. But makers and dealers feel the inventory is still surplus due to slow demand or conservative buying of users. Nippon Steel prospects the key is recovery in shipment and conservative buying of users.

Nippon Steel announced on Tuesday the firm keeps its H-beam selling price for dealers unchanged for March contracts. The firm will accept the orders from dealers with the actual demand to restrict the receipt volume as same as February. The firm will increase H-beam output slightly in March because the firm restarted order acceptance in February. The firm decreased the output by 90% during January-February from a year earlier.