Tokyo: Crude steel production in Japan in fiscal 2022 fell 8.1 pct from the previous year to 87.84 million tons, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said Friday.

The decline reflected a delay in the recovery of automobile production and a slump in exports as overseas economies slowed amid rising inflation and interest rates.

Crude steel output fell short of 100 million tons for the fourth straight year in the year ended last month, though up from 82.78 million tons in fiscal 2020, when production was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It appears difficult for crude steel production to exceed 100 million tons both on a calendar and fiscal year basis as more furnaces are scheduled to be suspended, the federation said.

In fiscal 2022, production of specialty steel products, supplied chiefly to manufacturers including automakers, plunged 11.3 pct, and that of ordinary steel products, mainly for construction, fell 7.2 pct.

In March alone, crude steel output fell 5.9 pct from a year before to 7.48 million tons, the 15th successive month of decline.

JIJI Press