Results and prospects of stainless steel production in Japan

Stainless steel production at the factories during 2014 decreased by 6.2 percent to 3.40 million tonnes in 2014 compared to 3.63 million tonnes in 2013, due to a drop in domestic demand in the country.

At the same time, stainless steel production at the country's six main plants recovered in the last month of 2014 compared to the previous month. The combined production of these plants was 280,066 tonnes, up 5.7 percent from 264,959 tonnes in November. However, December 2014 production was down 12.5 percent from the same month a year earlier, when six plants produced 320,008 tonnes of stainless steel.

Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd., which resumed production after being temporarily closed for regular furnace repairs, contributed significantly to the growth in production at the end of the year. Increased production levels have been announced by JFE Steel Corporation and Nippon Steel & Sumikin.

In general, in January-March of this year, both trading firms and so clients are trying to reduce stocks, and production during these months is expected to remain unchanged. However, a drop in production is predicted this year as well. Reports show that some of the stainless steel mills have embarked on a plan to regularly cut production starting in December. Weakening demand from the auto industry is likely to further reduce the production target for the coming months.