Japanese steel producers have reached an agreement with domestic household appliance manufacturers on the new contract price for the first half of the current fiscal year (April-September, 2011) of steel sheet used in household appliance manufacture, up JPY 15,000/mt ($186/mt) as compared with the last half of the 2010-11 fiscal year.
Market insiders stated that, considering the strong demand observed in the international household appliance market, it is easier to pass on the increase in production costs to prices.
As reported by Japanese steel producers, in the first half of the current fiscal year domestic steel production costs rose by approximately JPY 20,000/mt ($247/mt). However, due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit Japan in March this year, the demand level is still not strong enough to pass on the full increase in production costs.