Japan’s steel product orders, including specialty steels ordered by domestic steel consuming sectors totaled 7.47 million tons in September, down slightly by 0.26% from a month ago but rising by 8.73% year on year, according to statistic released by the Japan Iron and Steel Association (JISF).

Meanwhile, the steel product orders booked by the domestic construction sector totaled 1.06 million tons in September, rising by 7.84%; that ordered by the domestic automotive sector was at 1.08 million tons, increasing by 7.36%, both compared to the figures in the same month of 2012.