Japan Raw Steel Output Drops by 3.5% in August from July

Japanese raw steel output decreased by 3.5% to 8.899 million tonnes in August from July, which decreased for 3 months in a row and decreased to less than 9 million tonnes for the first time in 4 months, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Friday. Japanese integrated steel makers reduced the output due to lower export under decreasing market in Asia while domestic electric furnace steel makers were in summer time maintenance outage.

The production decreased in recent 3 months when Asian market experienced oversupply mainly due to Chinese overproduction while strong export demand lifted Japanese steel production since summer in 2009. The production could decrease more in and after September due to negative factors including higher yen rate and termination of subsidiary for eco-friendly vehicle.

Japanese raw steel output increased by 7.1% in August from a year earlier, which increased for 10 months in a row. The converter steel output increased by 6.9% to 7.061 million tonnes from a year earlier, which increased for 10 months in a row, while the output decreased by 3.5% from July due to lower export and some production trouble. The electric furnace steel output increased by 7.9% to 1.838 million tonnes from a year earlier, which increased for 9 months in a row, while the output decreased by 3.6% from July.

The carbons steel output was 6.948 million tonnes in August, which was 1.9% higher than a year earlier and 2.1% lower than July. The special steel output was 1.951 million tonnes, which was 31.4% higher than a year earlier and 8.2% lower than July. The output was year to year increase for 10 months in a row for carbon steel and for 9 months in a row for special steel.

The production of hot rolled products was 7.952 million tonnes in August, which was 9% higher than a year earlier and 1% lower than July. The output of carbon steel products was 6.289 million tonnes, which was 3.8% higher than a year earlier and 0.1% higher than July. The output was 1.272 million tonnes for long products, which was 16.8% higher than a year earlier and 7.9% lower than July. The output of flat products was 4.952 million tonnes, which was 10.3% higher than a year earlier and 2.5% higher than July. The year to year output increased for 10 months in a row for flat steel while the long products output decreased for 2 months in a row. The special steel output was 1.663 million tonnes, which was 35% higher than a year earlier and 5% lower than July.