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Japan’s domestic demand for heavy plate has been recovering but rather slowly as sales to the domestic manufactures such as machinery sector have been up while the volume to the construction projects had been stagnated, which has made it difficult for distributors to transfer the price increases by the domestic steel producers in the past couple of months, sources shared on December 3.
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By the end of October, stocks of carbon steel hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated coils and sheets at Japan’s steel producers, coil centers and distributors declined to a new low since April 2010, down 2.9% or 108,000 tonnes on month to about 3.56 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by Nippon Steel on December 2, indicating that Japan’s supply of carbon steel flats have been tightening, according to market sources.
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New Japanese government data indicating the impact the COVID-produced economic slowdown is having on private construction is giving steel industry insiders more cause for concern, especially for their business during the early part of next year.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry recovered by 0.3 basis points on month to 49 in November, or a new high since August 2019, indicating that the country has been slowly getting rid of the adverse impact of the CONVID-19, according to the release from au Jibun bank Corporation on December 1.
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For October, Japan’s carbon steel exports posted an on-year decline for the sixth consecutive month, down 10% on year but almost flat on month to about 1.7 million tonnes, while China remained the top buyer posting an on-year gain, according to the latest data from the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on November 30.
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry recovered by 0.7 basis point to reach 52.1 in November after the small decline in October, according to the latest release from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on November 30. The result shows that this weathervane of Chinese manufacturing activity has remained above the threshold of 50 connoting expansion for nine straight months and indicates that the performance recovery of the country’s manufacturing industry is accelerating, NBS said.
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Japan’s imports of stainless cold-rolled coil in October plunged by 38% on year to 7,737 tonnes, the lowest level in a year, according to new data from Trade Statistics of Japan released on Friday, prompting Japanese market sources to suggest that domestic stainless market conditions might improve as a result.
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Japan’s H2 grade scrap prices for both domestic sales and exports rose for the fifth week over November 23-27, up another Yen 500-1,000/tonne ($5-10/t), as the slowdown in deliveries from seller on the anticipation of further price rises had prompted buyers to pay more for supplies, scrap traders in Tokyo shared.
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry recovered by 0.7 basis point on month to 52.1 for November, or above the benchmark of 50 for the ninth month, indicating the pick-up in pace of recovery in the country's manufacturing sector, according to the latest release from the country's
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China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the steel industry rose by 3.5 basis points on month to 49.3 for November, with both demand and supply having shown signs of further growths for the second month, according to the latest release from the CFLP Steel Logistics Professional Committee. A detailed report
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Japan’s domestic sales of stainless hot-rolled and cold-rolled coils and sheets from 32 coil centers recovered by 8.6% on month to 51,269 tonnes, though it was still 12% lower on year, according to the latest data from the Japan Stainless Coil Center Association (JSCA) on November 26, indicating the domestic demand has been recovering gradually, market sources shared.
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Japan’s dealer prices of carbon steel hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets have both gained Yen 1,000/tonne ($10/t) on month due to the tightening in supply from the distributors, and buyers were forced to pay more to secure deliveries, according to sources in Tokyo and Nagoya in central Japan.
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Toyota Motor, Japan’s largest automaker, has informed its auto component suppliers that it will keep domestic vehicle production at above 13,000 units/day until February, industry sources in Nagoya and Tokyo said on Wednesday. The projected daily rate will be slightly lower compared with previous months, but the level remains high overall, meaning that steel consumption by the company and its vast network of components suppliers will likely stay firm, they said.
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Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, has restarted a banked blast furnace located in the Kimitsu Area of its East Nippon Works in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo, to respond to improving steel demand from consumers, especially auto makers.
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Japan’s crude steel production in October including both carbon and special steel declined by 11.7% on year to some 7.2 million tonnes, making for the eighth consecutive monthly on-year decrease, according to the latest data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on November 24.
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The annual information exchange between steel industry officials in Japan and Taiwan held recently identified no major outstanding issues. “Steel trade between Taiwan and Japan is currently smooth,” an official from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) commented on Tuesday. In previous years, Japanese exports of heavy sections had been a source of friction, but those tensions have eased, Mysteel Global understands.
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In a regular meeting of the State Council on November 18, China’s central government issued a clear signal that it intends to strongly lift domestic consumption of automobiles and home appliances. Chinese steel market sources believe that Beijing’s declaration of support for both sectors will help boost demand for flat steel and in turn, give their prices – already at highs for the year – another fillip.
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Japan’s all kinds of steel exports for October fell 13% on year to about 2.47 million tonnes, or the sixth consecutive month posting an on-year decline, mainly as the Japanese integrated mills had been prioritizing supplies to domestic customers, Mysteel Global understood from the preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on November 18.
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Japan’s electric-arc-furnace (EAF) steel producers have been retreating from billet exports for now until they are clear what prices to offer with the rising scrap costs, though inquiries from the buyers in the Asian market have stayed active, according to sources in Tokyo and Osaka November 18.
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Kyoei Steel, Japan’s largest rebar producer, has decided to lift its rebar prices by Yen 3,000/tonne ($29/t) for December sales, mainly to reflect higher scrap prices and to secure sufficient steel margins for steady operations, the company announced on November 17.
