Japan's crude steel production declines by 3.8% y-o-y in Jul'24 amid weak demand

Japan Metal Daily: The Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) reported decline in domestic crude steel production by 3.8% y-o-y to 7.1 million tonnes (mnt) in July. This marked the fifth consecutive month of y-o-y decline. The slump in demand for steel products has led to a slowdown in production activities among steelmakers.

Daily production

Compared to June, daily production in July declined by 5,000 tonnes (t) to 229,000 t. This represents an annualised output of less than 84 mnt.

Production by furnace type

Converter steel production decreased by 6.9% y-o-y to 5.225 mnt, while electric arc furnace steel increased by 6% y-o-y to 1.875 mnt. Converter steel sales have been declining for five months in a row, while electric arc furnace steel saw a rise for the first time in four months.

Production by steel type

Steel production saw a y-o-y decline in August 2024. Overall output fell by 2.8% y-o-y to 5.48 mnt, while specialty steel production dropped by 7.1% y-o-y to 1.62 mnt. This marked the fifth consecutive month that both categories have produced less than the corresponding period in 2023.

Hot-rolled steel production

Hot-rolled steel production fell by 5.1% to 6.308 mnt, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline. Both ordinary and special steels contributed to this downturn.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal daily and BigMint.