Japan's ordinary steel products inventory declines for second consecutive month in end-Nov'22

Inventories of ordinary steel products held by Japanese manufacturers and wholesalers till the end of November 2022 stood at 5.74 million tonnes (mnt), down by 2.3% or 130,000 tonnes (t) from end-October, as per data released by the Japan Steel Federation (JSF). This marks the second consecutive decline on a monthly basis.

The inventory ratio was 174.1% in November (down 1.6% from end-October). Domestic shipments dropped marginally by 1.4% m-o-m to 3.30 mnt during the period. Inventories for exports also fell by 3.5% m-o-m to 921,000 t in November.

The combined inventory ratio for both domestic and exports was 129.4% as against 134.3% in end-October.

The inventory ratio for flat steel products such as hot-rolled coil, cold rolled coil and galvanised steel sheet were in the range of 137-198%, while that of H-beam and bars was below 100%.

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