JFE Steel to Reduce Crude Steel Output by 300,000t for Oct-Dec

JFE Steel plans to decrease crude steel output by about 300,000 tonnes for October-December from original plan. Steel demand is decreasing due to global economy downturn and flood damage in Thailand. JFE Steel will reduce the output by about 200,000 tonnes at West Japan iron works and by about 100,000 tonnes at East Japan iron works mainly in November-December. Mr. Hiroshi Ueda, managing director of JFE Steel, explained the firm adjusts pig iron and hot metal production rate against blast furnaces’ and converters’ inner volume, not planning suspension of blast furnaces.

As of late October, JFE Steel had announced its full-year crude steel output plan at 2.8 million tonnes for fiscal 2011 ending in March 2012. The firm decided production cut by about 300,000 tonnes when the flood impact is spreading than estimated and global economy is slowing down. Thus Japanese steel export is negatively affected.

JFE Steel didn’t figure out the half-year output view for October-March because of unforeseeable market situations in January-March. Monthly crude steel production increased by 0.5% to 2.392 million tonnes in October from a year earlier. Non-consolidated raw steel production in April-September accumulated 13.65 million tonnes, lower than 14.35 million tonnes in the same period of fiscal 2010. The firm’s steel export to Thailand usually exceeds 100,000 tonnes per month.

JFE Steel has domestic crude steel output capacity at total 33 million tonnes per year with nine blast furnaces in East and West Japan iron works. Presently one blast furnace has been suspended in Fukuyama area of West Japan iron works for better productivity since Lehman’s fall.