Japan's crude steel output fell on the year in May for a second consecutive month, according to the industry group Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), largely because of sluggish demand.
The country produced 6.8mn t of crude steel in May, down by 4.7pc on the year, preliminary data released by JISF on 23 June show. But steel output increased by 3.5pc on the month.
Output in May is consistent with the downtrend in domestic steel demand observed over the past 12 months, a representative from JISF's statistic division told Argus.
Production fell on the year despite the country's second-largest steel producer JFE Steel postponing a planned temporary closure of one of its basic oxygen furnace (BOF) production facilities in Japan's western part Kurashiki. The firm had initially scheduled the temporary closure for mid-May, but delayed it indefinitely because "several conditions for suspensions are not yet in place", according to the representative of JFE who spoke to Argus.
The temporary closure, once implemented, would reduce JFE's annual crude steel production by 15pc or around 4mn t, according to the Japanese producer.
The country's steel production by electric arc furnace (EAF) method fell by 6.7pc from a year earlier to 1.8mn t in May, marking the 10th consecutive month of year-on-year decline, according to JISF. This was mostly driven by sluggish demand from the domestic construction industry, the major consumer of EAF-produced steel, JISF told Argus.
The overall downtrend in crude steel production is poised to continue for the time being, and the country's annual output may potentially fall below 80mn t by the end of the year, the lowest level since the late-1960s, according to JISF.
This is mostly because of a combination of sluggish overseas steel demand, an influx of China's low-cost steel products to the Japanese market, as well as potential impacts of the US' blanket 25pc tariffs on steel imports. This comes on top of persistently weak steel demand, JISF said, adding that there appears to be no factors that can significantly reverse the current downtrend.
| Japanese ferrous output | 000t | ||||
| May '25 | Apr '25 | May '24 | m-o-m ± % | y-o-y ± % | |
| Crude steel production | |||||
| Ordinary steel | 5,303 | 5,097 | 5,549 | 4.0 | -4.5 |
| Specialty steel | 1,530 | 1,508 | 1,619 | 1.4 | -5.5 |
| Total crude production | 6,833 | 6,605 | 7,168 | 3.5 | -4.7 |
| Crude steel production method | |||||
| Basic oxygen furnace | 5,074 | 4,829 | 5,283 | 5.1 | -4.0 |
| Electric arc furnace | 1,759 | 1,776 | 1,885 | -0.9 | -6.7 |
| Pig iron production | |||||
| 4,960 | 4,736 | 5,176 | 4.7 | -4.2 | |
| *Based on preliminary data | |||||
| Source: Japan Iron and Steel federation | |||||
