In October this year, Japanese crude steel production was up by 1.5 percent compared to the previous month and fell by 4.9 percent compared to October last year, totaling 8.16 million mt, due to plant shutdowns after typhoons, according to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF). The largest Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corporation stopped one of the two basic oxygen furnaces at its Kimitsu Works in early September due to a typhoon, as previously reported by SteelOrbis.
In October, Japan’s crude steel production from basic oxygen furnaces increased by 0.7 percent month on month and was down by 3.3 percent year on year to 6.1 million mt, while production from electric arc furnaces increased by 3.8 percent month on month and was down by 9.5 percent year on year to 2.05 million mt.
In the January-October period of this year, the country's crude steel production came to 83.8 million metric tons, falling by 3.9 percent year on year. In the first ten months, Japan’s crude steel production from basic oxygen furnaces decreased by 3.4 percent year on year to 63.33 million mt, while production from electric arc furnaces declined by 5.6 percent year on year to 20.46 million mt.
The production volume of some steel products in Japan can be seen in the chart below:
|
Product |
October 2019 (mt) |
M-o-m change (%) |
Y-o-y change (%) |
|
Hot rolled section |
428,600 |
-1.1 |
-13 |
|
Bar |
777,000 |
+5.7 |
-7.4 |
|
Wire rod |
107,200 |
-16.4 |
-30 |
|
Heavy plate |
845,400 |
+2.7 |
-1.8 |
|
Hot rolled wide strip |
3,394,000 |
+7.2 |
-1.2 |
|
Cold rolled wide strip |
1,373,200 |
-1.8 |
-10 |
|
Galvanized sheet |
791,000 |
-5.6 |
-14.7 |
|
Welded pipe |
305,500 |
-2.5 |
-20.4 |