In April this year, Japanese crude steel production was down by 16.8 percent compared to the previous month and fell by 23.5 percent compared to April 2019, totaling 6.62 million mt, according to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
Meanwhile, in the given month Japan's pig iron production totaled 4.9 million metric tons, decreasing by 18.4 percent compared to the previous month and down by 24 percent year on year.
In the January-April period of this year, the country's pig iron output stood at 23.32 million metric tons, down by 5.9 percent, while its crude steel production came to 30.73 million metric tons, falling by 8.6 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
The production volume of some steel products in Japan can be seen in the chart below:
Product |
April 2020 (mt) |
M-o-m change (%) |
Y-o-y change (%) |
Hot rolled section |
401,800 |
-3.2 |
-15.8 |
Bar |
704,800 |
-0.2 |
-10.8 |
Wire rod |
117,200 |
-11.9 |
-19.7 |
Heavy plate |
702,700 |
-5.0 |
-21.0 |
Hot rolled wide strip |
2,629,500 |
-23.0 |
-22.3 |
Cold rolled wide strip |
1,059,100 |
-26.0 |
-24.1 |
Galvanized sheet |
620,200 |
-27.9 |
-25.0 |
Welded pipe |
249,000 |
-16.0 |
-21.6 |