Japan forecasts crude steel output to increase in the first quarter of 2022

According to METI, this will be the fourth consecutive quarter that Japan's crude steel output has recorded an increase, thereby bringing the total crude steel output of the fiscal year 2021/2022 (to the end of March 2022) by 17% compared to the previous quarter. previous fiscal, to 97.07 million tons. Previously, Japan's crude steel production in the 2020/2021 fiscal year fell to the lowest level in about 50 years.
METI's crude steel production estimate for the first three months of 2022 reflects surging demand in the auto industry, which has been adversely affected by the lack of semiconductor chips and components in recent times. "Our forecast is based on the assumption that automakers will increase production to offset the loss in recent months," said Daisuke Matsuno, an official at METI.

Japanese automakers, such as Toyota and Nissan, have had to cut production since the summer. Japan's top car maker Toyota announced this week it will suspend production at five domestic factories in January 2022 due to supply chain problems, semiconductor chip shortages and negative impacts. of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reuters/BNEW