Japan’s crude steel output rose 42.2% in May from a year earlier, climbing for a third consecutive month as industry demand picked up from a coronavirus-related slump, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said on Tuesday.

Output, which is not seasonally adjusted, increased to 8.42 million tonnes in the world’s No.3 steel producer, up 7.7% from April.

Steel output in May last year plunged 31.7% from a year earlier as the pandemic collapsed demand, forcing steelmakers to suspend some of their blast furnaces.

The 44% jump marks the biggest year-on-year increase since May 2010 when the local economy was recovering from the global financial crisis in 2009, a researcher at the federation said.

“The sharp rise reflected a recovery in demand at home and abroad, as well as restarts of some blast furnaces that had been suspended,” he said.

“Demand from manufacturers, including automakers and industry machinery makers, has been steadily picking up,” he added.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said in April that Japan’s crude steel output is forecast to rise 28.3% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, thanks to a recovery from a pandemic-induced demand collapse in the previous year.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Jan Harvey)