Japan April-June crude steel output is set to fall 0.7% on slack demand, METI says
- Output from the world's fourth-largest steel producer is forecast at 20.0 million metric tons for the three months
TOKYO: Japan’s crude steel output is expected to fall 0.7% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier due to slack demand in the construction and manufacturing sectors, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Thursday.
Output from the world’s fourth-largest steel producer is forecast at 20.0 million metric tons for the three months, the lowest level since the July-September quarter of 2025 when production dropped to 19.93 million tons.
Annual crude steel output for the fiscal year ended on March 31 is estimated at 80.68 million tons, the lowest since fiscal 1968, when output was rising during Japan’s high-growth era.
In construction, the demand environment remains unchanged due to labour shortages and rising material costs, the METI said.
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Demand from the automotive and other manufacturing sectors is expected to stay flat. Consumption of steel products, including exports, in April-June is forecast to decline 1.5%year-on-year to 17.98 million tons, the ministry said, citing an industry survey. Exports alone are forecast to fall 1.0%.
The crisis in Iran could reduce Japan’s export to the Middle East, Manabu Nabeshima, director of METI’s metal industries division, told reporters.