According to data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Association on February 18, in January Japan registered a 37.8 percent decrease in its crude steel production year on year to 6.37 million metric tons, the largest historical year-on-year drop recorded in monthly steel production.
In January, Japan produced 5.502 million metric tons of pig iron - down 10 percent from December 2008 and down 27.1 percent from January 2008, 6.370 million metric tons of crude steel - down 37.8 percent from December 2008 and down 14.9 percent from January 2008, 5.428 million metric tons of hot rolled products - down 13.6 percent from December 2008 and 40.7 percent from January 2008.