In August this year, Japan's seasonally adjusted industrial production decreased by 1.7 percent month on month, while the unadjusted production index increased by 3.4 percent compared to the same month in 2025, according to the preliminary Industrial Production report published by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
In August, the Japanese iron and steel production index increased by 1.5 percent year on year, while the seasonally adjusted index decreased by 1.2 percent compared to July. Meanwhile, Japanese producers' iron and steel shipments fell by 2.8 percent and iron and steel inventories decreased by 1.2 percent, both compared to the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
According to the ministry's Survey of Production Forecast in Manufacturing, Japanese manufacturing production is expected to increase by 3.2 percent in September and by 3.1 percent in October, both on a month-on-month basis. Meanwhile, Japanese iron and steel production is expected to decrease by 0.2 percent in September and increase by 0.2 percent in October, month on month.
