Kobe Steel to Raise Welding Material Price for October Shipment

Kobe Steel’s welding department will raise the selling price of welding material for stainless steel products by 10-15% for shipment on and after October 1. The firm already started the price negotiation with users. The firm raises the price for the first time after the hike in April 2005.Kobe Steel decided the hike due to the escalating price of stainless steel wire, sheet and flux material under the inflation price of nickel and chrome. The price of stainless steel wire, the main material for welding, is increasing by 15-20% from the beginning of this year. The firm cannot cover the cost increase only by the firm’s cost cut efforts and needs the cost pass-through for stable purchasing of raw material and responsibility for power supply. The firm may examine another hike if nickel price continues to increase.Welding material for stainless products is used for chemical tanker, water gate and kitchen. The producer in Kobe Steel Group is Shinko Taseto, the joint company of Kobe Steel and Taseto, Japanese major wilding material maker for stainless products. Japanese domestic shipment of the welding material is 9,000-10,000 tonnes per year. The demand keeps firm.