Sumitomo Metals Keeps Top Seamless Tube Share in F2008

Japanese hot rolled seamless steel tube output decreased by 1.9% to 2.01 million tonnes in fiscal 2008 (Apr08-Mar09) from fiscal 2007. The output increased in the first half of fiscal 2008 thanks to good export for oil tubular and good domestic demand for construction machine or automobile, but largely dropped in the last half of fiscal 2008 due to world economic crisis. Top 6 makers didn’t change their positions of the output ranks.

The top maker, Sumitomo Metal Industries increased the production volume and the share in fiscal 2008. The firm increased the production volume by 1.3% and the share by 1.9 percentage points. The firm secured the shipment volume stably when long contracts rate of the export for oil tubular was high.

JFE Steel was the second maker, which reduced the output by 5.8% and the share by 0.7 percentage points. NKK Seamless Steel Tube was the third maker, which kept the output and increased the share by 0.2 percentage points. Sanyo Special Steel decreased the output by 11.1% and the share by 0.6 percentage points.

Nippon Steel reduced the output by 17.5% and the share by 0.7 percentage points when domestic demand dropped for automobile, construction machine and industrial machine, and spot trade decreased for oil tubular. Kobe Special Tube increased the output by 3.4% and kept the share when the firm built up the production capacity and started OEM production for Sumitomo Metals.

The demand for seamless steel tube maintains low in fiscal 2009. Oil tubular inventory is excess mainly in USA. Oil companies’ orders keep slow. On the other hand, domestic demand largely drops for construction machine. Consequently Japanese seamless makers’ output is expected to decrease in fiscal 2009.