Japan's domestic steel orders slightly up y-o-y: JISF

Japan's domestic steel orders in February inched up by 0.1% y-o-y reaching 2.795 million tonnes (mnt), according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF). This represents the fifth consecutive month of growth.

However, the increase was driven primarily by sales to distributors (around 70% for construction), as demand from key manufacturing sectors remained sluggish.

Manufacturing sector slowdown continues

Automobile orders saw a significant decline of 12% y-o-y this month, totalling 507,000 tonnes (t). Some automakers reduced production, mirroring the slowdown in the manufacturing sector.

Moreover, the industrial machinery sector continued to struggle, with new orders experiencing a 3.3% y-o-y decline to 94,000 t. This weakness mirrored the manufacturing industry, which saw a 3.4% decrease to 1.15 mnt in orders received.

Construction demand and export orders

Construction (architecture/civil engineering) demand for both residential and non-residential use decreased by 3.2% y-o-y to 702,000 t.

There was a 10.5% drop in export orders, bringing the total down to 1.659 mnt. Overall order volume, including domestic sales, declined by 4.1% y-o-y to 4.454 mnt.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and BigMint.