Japan's crude steel production increases by 1.1% y-o-y in Feb'24

Japan's crude steel production in February rose by 1.1% y-o-y compared to the same month last year, reaching 6.99 million tonnes (mnt). This marked the third straight month of y-o-y growth.

However, for FY'23 (April 2023 to February 2024) stood at 79.63 mnt, inched down by 0.9% y-o-y from the same period in the previous year. As a result, full-year production is expected to fall slightly below 87.84 mnt produced in FY'22.

Daily steel production increases

February production saw a rise of approximately 7,000 tonnes (t) compared to January, reaching 241,000 t daily. However, this increase is minimal compared to February 2023. Although February 2024 had one additional working day, production only rose by about 6,000 t.

Types of steel production

In February, overall steel production increased by 1.1% y-o-y to 5.467 mnt. There was also a positive trend in specialty steels, where production edged up by 1.0% y-o-y to 1.522 mnt and sales grew for the second month in a row.

Moreover, in February converter steel production increased by 1.4% y-o-y to 5.123 mnt, while electric furnace steel production inched up by 0.1% y-o-y to 1.866 mnt. Sales of converter steel also rebounded in February, marking the first increase in two months. Hot-rolled steel production increased by 1.3% to 6.063 mnt.

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