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JFE Steel, Japan’s second largest integrated steelmaker, has decided to lift its entire catalogue of products by over Yen 13,000/t ($121/t) for April sales to all domestic and overseas customers, spot and long-term contract buyers, the Tokyo-based steelmaker has announced. The across-the-board increase is to offset higher iron ore and coal prices, a company official confirmed on March 4.
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Japanese steel product prices will continue strengthening for the foreseeable future because of rising raw material prices and tight supplies of finished steel, according to Shinichi Nakamura, chairman of the Tekko Sangyo Kondankai, a monthly meeting of Japanese steel industry directors convened to discuss market trends.
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China’s heavy truck sales for February would probably approximate 110,000 units, or nearly tripling from the 37,600 units in February 2020, according to the latest release by Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World on February 28, which was mainly due to the ongoing truck upgrading in China, the country’s heavy investment in the infrastructure and the seasonal demand peak in the first quarter.
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Japan’s eight major automakers posted a 4.5% on-year drop in January output at both the domestic and overseas plants to about 2.11 million units, according to the data released by automakers until February 26, and the decline was not about auto demand but the worldwide shortage of semi-conductors, according to market sources.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for February gained 1.6 basis points on month to reach 51.4, returning to expansion for the first time since December and indicating that Japanese manufacturers are gradually emerging from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to index compiler au Jibun Bank Corporation on March 1, the February result showed the strongest improvement since December 2018. A reading over the threshold of 50 connotes expansion, Mysteel Global notes.
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Some domestic yellow goods dealers in East and Central China have begun raising sales prices of their heavy equipment beginning late February, trying to offset higher manufacturing costs caused by climbing input prices including those of steel, Mysteel Global has learned.
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Japan’s carbon steel exports declined again in January, falling by 13% on year and by 0.9% on month to 1.65 million tonnes, according to the latest data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation on February 26. Though this marked the ninth consecutive monthly tumble, a JISF official was optimistic that this month’s result would show some improvement as steelmakers had more capacity available.
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After remaining flat since last October, Japanese prices of 300-series stainless cold-rolled (CR) sheet have risen by Yen 10,000/tonne ($95/t) this week, Mysteel Global has learned, and dealers are now targeting a further Yen 10,000/t hike by end of March, according to market sources.
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Toyota Motor, Japan’s largest automaker, has informed its auto components suppliers that it will keep domestic automobile production at around 12,500-13,000 units/day during March-May, and its auto steel consumption, thus, will not be affected much by the short-time stoppage at half of its 28 assembly lines in Japan after the earthquake in mid-February, industry sources in Tokyo and Nagoya of central Japan shared on February 24.
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Domestic sales of passenger cars in China this month are expected to reach 1.2 million units, some 44.9% lower on month, according to the latest release from the China Passenger Car Association on February 22. The CPCA said the Chinese New Year holiday over February 11-17 had interrupted sales, leading to the decline in sales.
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Japan’s crude steel production in January including both carbon and special steel decreased by 3.9% on year to about 7.92 million tonnes, or recording the 11th consecutive month that had posted an on-year decline, according to the latest data from the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF) on February 22, though it was 5.3% higher on month, suggesting that country’s steel demand and output has been recovering steadily on month, a JISF official pointed out.
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Japan’s exports of steel in all grades and forms declined by 13.3% on year to about 2.43 million tonnes for January, or the ninth month in a row with on-year drops, according to the preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on February 17, which was mainly due to the domestic steel mills’ preference for domestic sales over exports when supply was tight, Mysteel Global understood.
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Toyota Motor, Japan’s largest automaker, has decided to temporarily halted 14 assembly lines at its nine plants out of its 25 lines at 15 plants across Japan for one to four days starting February 17 due to the disruption from an earthquake that hit north Japan on late February 13, according to the company announcement on Tuesday.
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China’s excavators sales by the 26 makers for both domestic and overseas markets totalled 19,601 units for January, or up 97.2% on year, according to the latest statistics from the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), with the surge mainly due to the low base numbers for January 2020 when China was hit by the COVID-19 and the remaining robust demand from the domestic construction projects, market sources commented.
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Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill, now expects to be able to post a pre-tax profit of Yen 30 billion ($284.6 million) on a consolidated basis for fiscal 2020 (April 2020-March 2021), reversing its earlier projection of a Yen 60 billion pre-tax loss, the company announced on February 5.
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Nippon Steel Stainless Steel Corp (NSSC), Japan’s largest stainless producer, has raised its February list prices of 300-series cold-rolled coils (CRCs) and plates for domestic sales to the distributors by Yen 10,000/tonne ($95/t) to reflect the higher nickel price, a company official shared on February 4.
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Japan’s crude steel output including both carbon and special steel is estimated to rise by 7.8% on quarter to about 23.7 million tonnes over January-March, according to a survey released by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on February 3, indicating the further improvement in steel demand.
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Chinese automotive dealers selling heavy-duty trucks seem to have enjoyed a sizzling start to the new year, according to the latest release from Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World on February 2. Preliminary sales data for January indicate that truck sales increased by a huge 62% on year to around 189,000 units, CVWorld noted, adding that manufacturers and dealers seem set to boost sales further during the first half of this year ahead of new regulations on truck emissions taking effect.
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Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry for January 2021 has declined by 0.2 basis points on month to 49.8 mainly due to lower output with the resurgence of the COVID-19, according to the release from au Jibun Bank Corporation on February 1.
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The value of home electrical appliance sales in Japan during 2020 reached Yen 2.54 trillion ($24.45 billion), up only 1% on year but still the highest since 1996, according to the latest data released by the Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association on January 25. JEMA attributed the rise to more people spending more time at home to stay safe from the COVID virus last year.
