According to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), in the first half of this year Japan's crude steel production came to 54.7 million metric tons, rising by 1.2 percent, while its pig iron output stood at 41.5 million metric tons, rising 2.8 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2012.
In June this year, Japanese crude steel production decreased by 3.6 percent compared to the previous month, while it rose by 0.3 percent year on year, totaling 9.3 million mt. Japanese crude steel production had witnessed a five percent month-on-month increase in May this year. Meanwhile, Japan's pig iron production in June this year totaled 6.9 million metric tons, decreasing by 4.6 percent month on month and up 0.9 percent compared to the same month last year.
Japan's steel product output tonnages in the first half of 2013:
Product | H1 2013 (mt) | Y-o-y change (%) | June 2013 | May 2013 |
Hot rolled section | 3,061,200 | -4.3 | 534,000 | 539,400 |
Bar | 5,134,200 | 2.7 | 877,700 | 879,600 |
1,072,900 | 22.4 | 147,100 | 186,400 | |
Heavy plate | 5,266,600 | -9.8 | 855,900 | 899,900 |
Hot rolled wide strip | 22,547,400 | 4.1 | 3,727,100 | 3,859,100 |
Cold rolled wide strip | 10,218,200 | -1.8 | 1,650,400 | 1,764,800 |
Galvanized sheet | 6,030,500 | -2.1 | 956,000 | 1,048,600 |
Welded pipe | 2,051,000 | 9.7 | 321,700 | 327,800 |