Japan Rolled Special Steel Output to Rise by 5.6% in January-March

Japanese output of special steel hot rolled products will increase to 5.485 million tonnes in January-March, which is 2.2% higher than October-December and 5.6% higher than same period of 2006, according to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The output exceeds record output at 5.367 million tonnes in October-December 2006. The output in January-March is 1% higher than 5.433 million tonnes of METI’s demand outlook announced in December. The output increases especially for high tensile steel items under firm demand for automobile and construction machinery though the raw steel output is 2% lower than October-December due to fewer operation days. The rolled products output in January-March is 3.863 million tonnes for domestic market, which is 1% lower than October-December and 3% higher than same period of 2006, and is 1.622 million tonnes for export, which is 10.7% higher than October-December and 12.3% higher than same period of 2006.