According to the latest forecast released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), crude steel demand in Japan is expected to reach 20.67 million tons in October-December 2026, up 2.3% year-on-year and 2.9% quarter-on-quarter.
Meanwhile, demand for finished steel, including domestic consumption and exports, is forecast at 18.49 million tonnes, unchanged from the previous year and up 1.8% quarter-on-quarter.
Internal growth compensates for the decline экспорта
Domestic demand for finished steel is projected to increase by 1.2% year-on-year to 12.38 million tons, while exports are expected to decline by 2.4% to 6.11 million tons. METI said that protectionist measures in foreign markets and continued high steel exports from China would keep conditions difficult for Japanese exporters.
Demand for conventional steel products is projected to decrease 0.9% year-on-year to 14.54 million tons, while demand for specialty steel is expected to increase 3.4% to 3.94 million tons.
Demand for construction is growing despite labor shortages and higher затраты
METI pointed out that labor shortages and rising material costs continue to put pressure on construction activities. In civil engineering, budgets for public works remain at a high level, as in the previous year. in the fiscal year, although higher construction costs are expected to limit steel demand, which is generally unchanged from the same period last year.
Construction activity also remains low, but signs of improvement in some regions and segments are expected to boost steel demand. Thus, domestic consumption of conventional steel in construction is projected to grow by 2.3% year-on-year to 3.79 million tons, including a 3.6% increase in construction-related consumption.
Demand for cars remains steady as the mechanical engineering industry gradually восстанавливается
In the manufacturing industry, METI expects the automotive industry to remain resilient, which will keep steel demand broadly stable year-on-year. While the industry will continue its gradual recovery, the mechanical engineering industry is expected to support moderate consumption growth.
However, the total consumption of conventional steel in the manufacturing industry is projected to decrease by 1.1% year-on-year to 5.68 million tons, with a projected decrease in demand for shipbuilding by 9.8%, compared with an increase of 0.3% in the automotive industry and one percent in industrial engineering.
There are no comments yet.