Japan Raw Steel Output Decreases by 1.8% in 2011

Japanese raw steel output decreased by 1.8% to 107.6 million tonnes in 2011 from 2010, announced by Japan Iron and Steel Federation on Friday. The production decreased for the first time in 2 years while the production kept 100 million tonnes for 2 years in a row. Domestic integrated steel makers reduced the output under the major earthquake, historical high yen rate and Thai flood. Domestic electric furnace steel makers increased the output thanks to higher domestic demand.

The converter steel output decreased by 3.5% to 82.74 million tonnes in 2011 from 2010. The electric furnace steel output decreased by 4.2% to 24.85 million tonnes. The electric furnace steel represented 23.1% of total output, which was 1.3 percentage points higher than 2010. The carbon steel output decreased by 2.0% to 83.2 million tonnes. The special steel output decreased by 1.1% to 24.39 million tonnes.

The output of hot rolled steel products decreased by 3.0% to 94.82 million tonnes in 2011 from 2010. The output decreased by 3.6% to 74.5 million tonnes for carbon steel and by 0.9% to 20.32 million tonnes for special steel.

The carbon steel hot rolled wide strip decreased by 6.8% to 42.66 million tonnes in 2011 from 2010. The output decreased by 0.9% to 12.31 million tonnes for plate while the output increased by 4.0% to 8.7 million tonnes for small bar and by 5.7% to 3.36 million tonnes for H-beam.

The raw steel output decreased by 8.4% to 8.4 million tonnes in December from a year earlier. The daily output was 270,900 tonnes, which was 6.6% lower than November level. The monthly output decreased by 11.2% to 6.32 million tonnes for converter steel in December from a year earlier, which decreased for 4 months in a row, while the electric furnace steel output increased by 1.2% to 2.08 million tonnes, which increased for 6 months in a row.

The monthly output decreased by 8.4% to 6.38 million tonnes for carbon steel in December from a year earlier, which decreased for 5 months in a row. The special steel output decreased by 8.6% to 2.01 million tonnes, which decreased for 2 months in a row.

The monthly output of hot rolled steel products decreased by 9.7% to 7.38 million tonnes in December from a year earlier, which decreased for 10 months in a row. The output decreased by 9.9% to 5.73 million tonnes for carbon steel, which decreased for 10 months in a row. The special steel output decreased by 9.1% to 1.65 million tonnes, which decreased for the first time in 3 months.

The output of carbon steel hot rolled wide strip decreased by 12.8% to 3.23 million tonnes in December from a year earlier, which decreased for 11 months in a row. The plate output decreased by 18.1% to 850,000 tonnes, which decreased for 6 months in a row. The small bar output increased by 4.0% to 740,000 tonnes, which increased for 6 months in a row. The H-beam output increased by 3.3% to 290,000 tonnes, which increased for 3 months in a row.

The quarterly raw steel output decreased by 3.9% to 26.57 million tonnes in October-December from same period of 2010. The output decreased by 6.3% to 20.01 million tonnes for converter steel while the electric furnace steel output increased by 3.9% to 6.56b million tonnes.