Japan: Steel demand remains high while exports see downturn

Japan's steel product orders rose by 2.9% y-o-y to 2,862,000 tonnes (t) in January, according to supply and demand data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISf) on 18 January. This marks the fourth consecutive month of y-o-y growth, indicating good demand.

Strong construction sector demand

While sales in sectors like automobiles slowed down, a surge in construction-related products drove overall sales growth.

• Construction orders (including civil engineering) jumped 3.4% y-o-y to 693,000 t.
  
  
• The non-residential construction sector was especially robust, with a rise of around 7% to 279,000 t.
  
  
• Sales to dealers, where roughly 70% of production is estimated to be for construction purposes, also saw a double-digit increase of 11.5% to 939,000 t.
  
  

Sluggish manufacturing industry demand

The manufacturing industry is experiencing a slowdown in sales. This weakness is affecting major sectors, including automobiles, industrial machinery, electrical machinery, and ships. Overall, sales have dipped 3.1% y-o-y to 1.23 million tonnes (mnt). While auto orders held steady until December, they dropped by 4.6% y-o-y in January to 624,000 t, likely due to production stoppages by some automakers.

Decreased exports

Orders for exports also dropped by 16.5% y-o-y to 1,595,000 t.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metdal daily and BigMint.