Automobile Outage to Cut Japan Steel Bar, Wire Output

Japanese special steel bar and wire products makers estimate the demand inevitably decreases for April-June compared with level in January-March when Japanese automobile makers have stopped output at most of its plants. However, the steel makers cannot make production plan when the automakers’ production volume is uncertain. The steel makers watch the automakers’ situation closely to figure out the demand.

The steel bar and wire products makers’ shipment for automobile parts is for order received before the major earthquake while the cold finished bar shipment started increasing for the dealers for construction machinery and industrial machinery parts.

Japanese largest valve spring oil tempered steel wire maker, Suzuki Metal Industry resumed the output at its plants on March 12 or a day after the major earthquake. The firm can operate with the own power generator even during controlled blackout. However, the demand significantly decreased due to automobile output suspension.

Automobile application represents major part of the special steel bar products. The steel makers can normalize the shipment activity when gasoline supply improves around Tokyo. However, the order for automobile almost stopped both for the dealers and contract users while the shipment started increasing for construction machinery and industrial machinery.