Sumitomo Metals Expands Railway Wheels Production Capacity in April

Sumitomo Metal Industries announced on Thursday the firm increases production capacity of railway wheels by 20% to 240,000 units per year in April. The firm has completed expanding construction in Osaka Steel Works with investment of 2 billion yen. The firm meets demand for railway wheels from North America or India. North America is switching transportation to railway from automobile due to rising gasoline price. Moreover, railway transportation in North America is increasing from West Coast to East Coast due to increased logistics from Asia. Consequently demand for railway wheels in North America is increasing. Demand for railway wheels in North America is estimated at 1.4-1.5 million units per year. The supply capacity of North American railway wheels maker is about1.2 million units. Sumitomo Metals expanded output capacity when the firm accepted the request from consumers in North America. The firm built up a heat furnace while introduced another cropper, 2 machining processors and a jet-peening line. The firm is the largest supplier of railway wheels in Japan.