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According to the latest data from the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), Japan's crude steel production in June fell 4.4% year-on-year to 6.72 million tons, and also decreased 1.7% month-on-month, marking the third consecutive month of year-on-year decline.KR R/D51 steel Analysts from the federation pointed out that the decline in production was mainly due to weak domestic end-user demand, rising raw material costs, and ongoing labor shortages in the construction industry, especially the continued sluggish demand in the automotive manufacturing industry.
Japan, the world's third-largest crude steel producer, saw its cumulative crude steel output in the first half of this year decrease by 5% year-on-year to 40.55 million tons, the lowest level for the same period since the global financial crisis in 2009.KR R/D51 steel Analysts point out that unlike the rapid rebound following the financial crisis, this round of decline has yet to show clear signs of recovery, leaving the industry under even greater downward pressure.
On the export side, although China's steel exports fell 8.5% month-on-month in June to a four-month low of 9.68 million tons, cumulative steel exports in the first half of the year reached 58.15 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.2%, a record high for the same period. This has created some supply pressure in the global market and indirectly suppressed Japan's steel exports. Although the United States is about to increase steel import tariffs, analysts believe that since Japan only exports about 1 million tons of steel to the United States annually, the direct impact will be relatively limited.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry predicted earlier this month that Japan's crude steel output will fall 2.3% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2025,KR R/D51 steel indicating that industry weakness will continue.
