BNA to Start No.3 CGL in January

Baosteel-NSC/Arcelor Mittal Automotive Steel Sheets, which is Shanghai based automotive sheet manufacturing joint venture of Nippon Steel, Baoshan Iron & Steel and Arcelor Mittal, starts the operation of No.3 continuous galvanizing line as early in January. The firm increases the capacity to meet automobile demand increase in China and to keep 50% share of high grade automotive sheet including Baosteel Group.

No.3 CGL, which has capacity of 450,000 tonnes per year, was planned to start the operation in spring of 2010. However, BNA set ahead the start of operation February 1. The firm plans to start the operation as soon as possible.

Chinese automobile production surged by 47.8% to 13.83 million units in 2009 from 2008 while the production increased by 1 million units every year to 9 million units in 2008 from 7 million units in 2006. The production has been more than 1 million units per month since March 2009 and the production recorded 1.54 million units in December.

Mr. Shoji Muneoka, president of Nippon Steel, said the firm could expand the capacity including No.4 CGL at BNA depending on Chinese demand growth.