Japan Electric Furnace Steel Output Drops by 20% in F2009

Japanese electric furnace makers’ production volume decreased to 20.689 million tonnes by 19.5% in fiscal 2009 ended March 2010 from fiscal 2008. Production ratio of electric furnace steel decreased by 2.9 percentage points to 21.5% of crude steel production in Japan. The production volume was record low since fiscal 1977. Common steel output made by electric furnace decreased by 21.5% in fiscal 2009 from 2008 while special steel output decreased by 14%. Total production volume by electric furnace increased by 7.4% to 1.949 million tonnes in March from February. Common steel output is expected to maintain low level when the demand for building material isn’t expected to recover in fiscal 2010. On the other hand, special steel output is expected to increase in fiscal 2010 compared with fiscal 2009 when production ratio is recovering for automobile or construction machine.

Electric furnace makers produced common steel at 14.96 million tonnes in fiscal 2009. Common steel output was over 20 million tonnes per year until fiscal 2007, but decreased to 19.05 million tonnes in fiscal 2008 and more dropped in fiscal 2009.

Electric furnace makers’ common steel production volume increased by 5.2% to 1.329 million tonnes in March from February, which increased for 2 consecutive months while increased by 26.3% from a year earlier when steel export increased.

Special steel output by electric furnace makers was 5.73 million tonnes in fiscal 2009, while was 6.66 million tonnes in fiscal 2008 and was below at 6 million tonnes in fiscal 2009.

But the crude steel increased to 620,504 tonnes by 12.6% in March from February, which is near the peak at 700,000 tonnes in fiscal 2007. Japanese electric furnace makers are steadily increasing the production to new developing countries in mainly Asia.