Japan September crude steel output up year-on-year

Japan September crude steel output up year-on-year

The Japan Iron and Steel Federation said that crude steel output in Japan amounted to 9.19 million tons in September with a rise of 2.2% compared to the same period of last year. However, crude steel output dropped by 2.2% compared to the previous month. This is the second consecutive month of decline, the federation data showed. In August, crude steel output rose by 1.7% from a year earlier to 9.4 million tons, but fell by 1.5% from the previous month. Japanese steelmakers continued to increase production of crude steel and hot rolled steel while reducing output of pig iron. Production of ordinary steel rose by 2.3% from a year earlier to 7.27 million tons while specialty steel output rose by 1.7% to 1.93 million tons.