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Among the four major electrical home appliances manufacturing in China, that of air-conditioner declined the most by 17.2% on month to 15.3 million units for August, though the volume was still 0.5% higher on year, according to the latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), though market sources remained optimistic on higher production for the last quarter of 2020.
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China’s shipbuilders received new vessel orders totalling about 15 million dead weight tons (dwt) over January-August, or down 4.5% on year, according to the latest data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI), there was a slight improvement from the 4.8% on-year drop for the first seven months, but the concern persisted on the insufficiency of the backlog.
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The pickup in China’s automotive market seen in August is likely to gain further traction this month and next, according to a new report from Mysteel’s Research Institute (MRI). Traditionally, September-October are busy months for the country’s auto market but this year business could get a further boost from the longer National Day holiday which falls in this period, and upcoming large-scale auto promotions, the MRI report notes.
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Production and sales of automobiles in China both witnessed on-year rises for the fifth successive month in August, mainly thanks to the stabilizing economy and a series of policies aimed at stimulating purchasing, according to the latest release from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on September 10. Market sentiment also largely improved last month, the association noted.
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Key indicators for construction in the United States, China and Europe continued showing improvement in June and July, although building activity in India was weighed down by a slowdown in infrastructure investment, according to a report shared by the World Steel Association (WSA).
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Amid soaring sales of excavators and other earthmoving equipment in China so far this year, Shandong and Jiangsu, both in East China, have been the core driving forces, an official from the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) confirmed, indicating the faster construction pace and stronger demand locally in these two comparatively developed provinces.
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Japan’s new vessel orders posted the first on-year rise in August, up 4.6% on year to 579,400 gross tonnes or nine vessels, according to new data released by the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association (JSEA) on September 9, though the market sources suspect this to be sustainable, and thus little support to steel plate consumption.
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Excavator sales to Chinese domestic customers and for export in August marked another sharp on-year increase, jumping by a remarkable 51.3% on year to 20,939 units, according to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) published on September 9.
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The powerful typhoon Haishen hit Kyushu, southern island of Japan on late September 6, forcing the local steel mills to halt steel production temporarily out of safety concerns amid torrential rains and strong winds, steel mill sources confirmed on Monday.
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Domestic sales of heavy-duty trucks in China continued to perform well in August, surging by 85% on year to around 128,000 units, according to the latest release from Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World (CVWorld). Though sales of these trucks have now witnessed healthy on-year rises for five successive months, the August result was still down 8% from July, the data showed.
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Japan's auto sales in August dropped by 16% on year, new industry data shows, as consumer confidence continued to languish in response to the coronavirus contagion. Nevertheless, last month’s result was not all bad, and sales this month are expected to show some improvement, doubtless to the relief of the country’s carbon and special steel producers, Mysteel Global notes.
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The Japanese shipbuilders expect their carbon steel consumption in fiscal 2020 (April 2020 – March 2021) to fall about 21% on year to 2.65 million tonnes in consideration of fewer new orders, according to the forecast released on September 1 by The Shipbuilders’ Association of Japan (SAJ).
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Metallurgical Corporation of China Ltd (MCC), China’s top metallurgical engineering and construction company, posted a 13.8% on-year gain in net profit and a 13.6% on-year rise in business revenue in the first half of 2020, according to its interim report released on August 29, which mainly benefited from Chinese steel mills’ relocation and upgrading, the country’s lift in infrastructure investment, especially after the virus outbreak, and property projects.
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Both the fundamentals and market sentiment will be lending support to China’s steel prices in general and rebar in particular in September, and coke and scrap prices may stay on their uptrends while iron ore price may recede from the highs, Wang Jianhua, Mysteel’s chief analyst shared his near-term outlook on September 1.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry recovered by 2 basis points on month to 47.2 in August, being much higher than the 11-year low of 38.4 in May, indicating that the sector had been on the gradual recovery, according to the release from au Jibun Bank Corporation on September 1.
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Japan’s domestic sales of stainless hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils and sheets from 32 coil centers recovered moderately in July, up 3.9% on month but still down 25.4% on year to 45,937 tonnes, according to the latest data released by the Japan Stainless Coil Center Association (JSCA) on August 27, indicating that the domestic demand had bottomed out, market sources shared.
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Toyota Motor, Japan’s largest automaker, has informed its auto parts suppliers that it plans to maintain its daily output at about 13,000 units/day over September-November at its domestic plants, or roughly back to the pre-pandemic level, industry sources in Nagoya, central Japan and Tokyo shared on August 25.
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China’s shipbuilders received new vessel orders equivalent to nearly 14 million dead weight tons (dwt) over January-July, lower by 4.8% on year, according to the latest data released by China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) on August 21. This was in contrast to the 3.4% on-year rise seen in new orders over H1, Mysteel Global notes.
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The upsurge in construction of 5G base stations across China has been giving support to steel demand, especially that for thick-gauge hot-rolled coils (HRC), market sources told Mysteel Global. The establishment of the 5G network has been gaining speed, with 5G towers being installed one after another across the country, especially in larger and more wealthy urban centres, they noted.
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China’s production of air-conditioners in July increased 6% on year to 18.5 million units, according to the latest data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). However, the July result represented a large decline of 6.4 million units or 25.7% from June, Mysteel Global noted.
