- Hot-rolled steel output falls to around 5.8 mnt
- Special steel growth resumes on higher output
Japan’s domestic crude steel production stood at 6,664,000 tonnes (t) in August 2026, up by 0.4% y-o-y, according to the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, which announced the data on the 24 September. This marked the fifth consecutive month in which domestic crude steel production exceeded the corresponding year-ago level. Daily crude steel production averaged around 215,000 t in August, down around 4% from July, while the annualised production rate was in the low 78 mnt range.
The increase in crude steel production points to a gradual improvement in industrial activity, supported by export-oriented industrial machinery orders and automobile production. However, subdued construction activity continued to limit broader demand growth, while rising material costs, labour shortages and elevated interest rates kept producers and end-users cautious. These factors continued to weigh on the pace of recovery and kept market sentiment subdued.
By furnace type, converter steel production stood at 5,139,000 t, up by 0.5% y-o-y, while electric furnace steel production increased by 0.3% y-o-y to 1,525,000 t. For the fifth consecutive month, both converter steel and electric furnace steel production remained above year-ago levels. By steel type, ordinary steel production was 5,137,000 t, up by 0.2% y-o-y, while special steel production stood at 1,527,000 t, up by 1.3% y-o-y. Special steel production increased for the first time in two months.
Meanwhile, hot-rolled steel production declined by 2.3% y-o-y to around 5.8 mnt, while ordinary steel production fell by 2.3% y-o-y to 4.591 mnt, marking the third consecutive month of y-o-y decline.
Note: This article is published as part of a content exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and BigMint.
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