Japan's crude steel production continues to decline for the fourth consecutive month

Japan Iron and Steel Federation announced on the 20th crude steel production in June was 8.885 million tons, down 5.0% year-on-year, for the fourth consecutive month. Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the impact caused by the reduction in production of the automotive industry as a major steel user continues.

Crude steel production decreased by 1.8% from the previous quarter. However, due to one less working day in June than in May, daily production actually rose by 1.5%. The industry believes that "still maintain a stable trend."

In terms of subcategories, the output of special steel such as automotive steel decreased by 7.7% year-on-year, and ordinary steel decreased by 4.3%.

The president of the Japan Iron and Steel Association and president of JFE Steel Co., Ltd. Shigeki Hamada said at the author’s meeting on the future of crude steel production that with the recovery of auto production after July, it is expected that crude steel production will return to the level of the same period of last year. . However, Lintian also believes that the export side is affected by factors such as China's increase in production and the appreciation of the yen, and it does not rule out the possibility of falling production.