Nippon Steel to Increase Hot-rolled Steel Sheet Production

The hot-rolled steel sheet production in the first half of fiscal 2005, the year that ends in March 2006, was 22.99 million tonnes, down 1.7% from the same period last year. The production share of Nippon Steel of No. 1 hot-rolled steel sheet maker increased. JFE Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries, which decreased the production from the same period, lowered the share. An electric furnace steel maker Tokyo Steel Manufacturing decreased the production dramatically by 24% to 2.3% of the share. Difference of the share between Nippon Steel and JFE Steel expanded to 4.6 points from 1.2 points in the same period last year. Tokyo Steel’s hot-rolled steel sheet production was 540,000 tonnes, down 170,000 tonnes. Though the production increased in fiscal 2004 thanks to increase of the export, the firm entered into the conditions of the production decrease because the export and domestic order entries declined by falls of the international and domestic markets after the second half of last fiscal year. The share of Tokyo Steel was 2.3%, down 0.7 point. As a result, the difference with Nakayama Steel Works (1.4%) reduced. But that with the blast furnace steel makers of the upper levels was expanded. The share of the 5 blast furnace steel makers was 96.3% as a total, up 0.8 point.