Japan: Ordinary steel orders for automobiles drop by 18.7% y-o-y

Ordinary steel orders for automobiles dropped by 18.7% y-o-y to 545,000 tonnes (t) in December 2022 for the first time in five months since July 2022, according to latest data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).

The order volume was affected by the reduction in automobile production owing to the shortage of semiconductors.

The volume of orders for automobiles exceeded the results for the same month of the previous year for four consecutive months from August to November. However, it turned negative again. Although it recovered to 700,000 units in August, it has remained at the 500,000-tonnes level since October. As a result, growth has continued to be sluggish.

Domestic and export orders

In December 2022, domestic ordinary steel orders decreased by 13.8% y-o-y to 2,895,000 t, marking the sixteenth consecutive month of decline. Both the manufacturing industry and the construction industry saw a sharp decline.

However, the volume of export orders increased by 8.6% to 1,946,000 t. The combined volume of orders for domestic and export sales was 4,841,000 t, down 6.0% y-o-y.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.