Nippon Steel to restart Nagoya BF on expected demand recovery

Nippon Steel, Japan's largest integrated steelmaker, has decided to restart a blast furnace at its Nagoya Works in central Japan by the end of August, on the expected improvement in steel demand, the company announced on August 17.

The Nagoya No.3 BF had been under relining since late January and it was initially slated for reignition from early June, but it was then postponed because of stagnated steel demand from Japan's auto sector and some other domestic manufacturers, as reported. A Nippon Steel official explained that steel demand