Steel production at major Japanese steel mills recovered in the first quarter of the current financial year (April-June) following weak results during the previous two quarters. However, output will not surge much further this year as producers face weaker demand domestically and abroad and pressure from the cost side.
One of the leading steel producers in Japan said that it will not reach its previous target of 29 million mt of output this financial year and will produce 28 million mt instead. The main reason for adjustment of the plan is the expected 0.4 percent decline in domestic ordinary steel consumption this year and high competition abroad. “Crude steel production is forecast to decrease by one million mt from the previous forecast through production adjustment based on recent slowing steel demand and relatively high domestic steel inventory levels in addition to operational troubles,” the company said in its financial results report. JFE Steel has cut its segment profit forecast for FY 2019-20 from JPY 105 billion to JPY 70.0 billion, decreasing by 33 percent.
In the April-June period this year, crude steel production of the company reached 7 million mt. Although this was lower than 7.1 million mt produced in the first quarter of the previous year, it indicated a 1.12 million mt rise following the low output in the previous quarter. The company plans to maintain quarterly production at unchanged levels for the whole year.
