Strong Plate Price in Tokyo

Plate steel market price is strong at around 120,000 yen per tonne for standard sized product with 19 millimeters thick, 5 feet width and 10 feet length and at around 140,000 yen for cut processed materials at dealers’ sites around Tokyo. Some dealers will increase selling price by about 5,000 yen per tonne step by step when some plate maker such as Nippon Steel announced to raise selling price by 10,000 yen per tonne. Dealers’ shipping is slower. The demand for building construction is less for mainly small-middle size building. Consequently, some plate shearing processors are struggling to acquire the order for building construction. Maker source said makers’ supply volume decreases by 20% in this year from last year. Because the supply and demand keeps tight situation, each dealer keeps higher selling price. On the other hand, the demand for shipbuilding, construction machine or industrial machine keeps strong. Makers are diverting the supply to these users.