Toyota steelmakers agree to cut steel sheet prices

Toyota Motor Corp. and other major steelmakers agreed to cut steel sheet prices for the first time at the beginning of this year.

According to industry sources, Toyota Corp. and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp have cut steel sheet prices as prices for iron ore and coal used in manufacturing fell. In addition, product prices are not expected to rise anytime soon.

Toyota decided to lower the price of sheet steel supplied to parts manufacturers. Lower prices for steel sheet can reduce profits for steelmakers, forcing them to intensify their efforts to combat production costs.

Iron ore and coal prices declined between October last year and March this year, but Toyota kept the price of steel sheet steady during the first half of 2015.

Toyota and its steel suppliers negotiate a steel sheet price every six months, and the price is subject to deals in other high-volume steel sheet industries such as shipbuilding and mechanical engineering.