Japan CRC shipments fell 4 percent

The latest statistics released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) report that the country's cold rolled coil (CRC) shipments declined during the eight-month period of 2014.

Japan's cold-rolled coil shipments totaled 4.23 million tonnes from January to August this year, down 3.9 percent from maritime transport during the corresponding eight-month period last year, according to JISF. CRC shipments in Japan reached 4.40 million tonnes during January-August 2013. Currently, supplies to the domestic market accounted for 81 percent of the total supply. Only 19 percent of the cold coil shipments were exported.

Due to the depreciation of the national currency of Japan against the dollar to its lowest level since 2008, the competitiveness of steel products in the domestic market of the country has increased. This is due to an increase in orders for the Japanese machinery sector from overseas, which has led to an increase in demand for rolled products. For this reason, Japanese steel companies are not worried about the decline in steel exports.

Deliveries during August 2014 fell sharply from the previous month. Monthly shipments during the month of August amounted to 462,997 tons, down 11.2 percent from deliveries in July this year. Japan's total cold coil stocks were 740,107 tonnes in August 2014, up 13 percent from July this year.