中文
Japan produced 87 million tonnes of crude steel in 2023, falling for the second consecutive year with a decline rate of 2.5%, the lowest since the pandemic in 2020, according to data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) on January 23.
Crude steel output of the country reached 6.98 million tonnes in December 2023, rising 1.1% compared to the same month last year. The output not being seasonally adjusted fell 1.8% from November, data showed.
The output decline was mainly attributed to subdued demand from the manufacturing and construction sectors in Japan, as well as lukewarm exports as China increased exports.
Japan repeatedly adjusted down the output targets due to prolonged shortage of chips and other components in 2023. The country's automobile production recovered from the previous year, while other manufacturing sectors remained sluggish, said a researcher of JISF.
Japan's construction sector also saw slack demand as labor shortages and rising material prices delayed construction processes, the researcher added.
He said that as Chinese steel mills increased exports to Southeast Asia, Japanese steelmakers were unable to profit from a weaker yen against the U.S. dollar.
Japanese steelmakers have been reducing the number of blast furnaces in recent years, taking the production of value-added products as priority to ensure higher profits. Japan's current supply capacity makes it hard for steel output to reach 100 million tonnes.
(Writing by yan.sun Editing by Harry Huo)
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