Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel has announced that it will upgrade and enlarge the blast furnace No. 2 at its Kimitsu steelworks to achieve greater competitiveness regarding pig iron and steel output.
The overhaul was initially scheduled to take place between mid-January and mid-May 2012. However, Nippon Steel has now decided to shut down the furnace in December this year, due to changes in global steel demand.
As a result of the shutdown, Nippon Steel's crude steel output will decrease by 250,000 mt, along with the 800,000 mt cut planned for October 2011-March 2012 compared with the same period one year before. Nippon Steel's output in the second half of the current year is expected to be 15.25 million mt.