Japan's top steelmakers to increase output

Japan's top five steelmakers aim to increase crude steel production to a combined 88.4 million tons in the year ending March 2009, up 7.2 percent from the last financial year. The five firms – Nippon Steel Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, Sumitomo Metal Industries Limited, Kobe Steel Limited and Nisshin Steel Company – are all producing high-quality steel used in automobile sheets and pipes for oil extraction. The companies plan to boost their capital spending by nearly 40 percent over the next three years to more than Yen 2.2 trillion (around $18.5 billion).