Production and Technology of Iron and Steel in Jap

ISIJInternational,Vol.50(2010),No.6,pp.777–7961.OverviewoftheJapaneseIronandSteelIndustryInthefirsthalfof2009,theJapaneseeconomyexperi-encedunprecedenteddifficultiesresultingfromtheglobalfinancialcrisiswhichbeganinthefallof2008.However,beginninginthesecondhalf,theeffectsofgovernmenteco-nomicmeasureswerefelt,andtheeconomyisnowcontinu-ingtoemergefromtheworstperiodofthedownturn.Itwastrulyayearofrecoveryfromcrisis.Nevertheless,theyenremainshigh,deflationarytendenciesareincreasing,andtheemploymentenvironmentandotherconditionsarecon-tinuingtodeteriorate,raisingfearsofadouble-dipreces-sion.TheCabinet’smonthlyeconomicreportforJanuary2010describedeconomicconditionsinJapanbysayingthat“Theeconomyhasrallied,buttherecoverylacksself-sustainabil-ity.Moreover,asbefore,conditionsremainextremelydiffi-cult,includingthehighlevelofunemployment”.Thereportgoesontosaythat,“Regardingtheoutlookforthefuture,althoughadifficultemploymentenvironmentwillcontinue,againstthebackgroundofimprovementintheeconomiesofothercountriesandtheeffectsofemergencyeconomicmeasures,theimprovingtendencyinthebusinessclimatecanbeexpectedtocontinue.Ontheotherhand,itisneces-sarytonotethattheriskofdownwardpressureontheecon-omyalsoexists,asseeninconcernsaboutfurtherdeteriora-tionintheemploymentenvironmentandapossibledown-turnintheoverseasbusinessclimate,theeffectsofdefla-tion,andthelike”.The“EconomicReviewofFY2010andBasicPolicyonEconomicandFiscalManagement”adoptedbyaCabinetresolutioninJanuary2010presentsthefollowingoutlook:“TherealgrowthrateofJapan’sgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)infiscal2009willimprovefromthepreviousyearbecausethetakeoffpointforgrowthwasextremelylow.However,growthisstillexpectedtobelimitedtoaroundminus2.6%.Furthermore,thenominalgrowthrate,whichisclosertothepeople’srealfeelingoftheeconomy,ispre-dictedtodecreaserapidlyforthesecondconsecutiveyear,atapproximatelyminus4.3%”(Fig.1).TheJapanesesteelindustryalsoexperiencedalargedropindemandinthefirsthalfof2009.Inthesecondhalf,theeffectsofeconomicstimulusmeasuresinvariouscountriesbecameapparent.ExportstoChina,SoutheastAsia,etc.in-creasedmorethanexpected,supportingagradualrecoveryinproductionconditions.However,becausesteeldemandrelatedtotheconstructionmarketandequipmentinvest-mentremainsstagnant,thefutureoutlookcontinuestobeunclear.Inthisenvironment,itisimportantthatthesteelindustrycontinuestorespondtoglobalenvironmentalproblems,whichisanareawhereithascommittedgreateffortstodate,andrespondsappropriatelytotheincreasingoligopo-lizationofresourcesuppliesinworldmarkets.Inbothareas,itisnecessarytoimplementstrategiesthatarecon-sistentwithsureeconomicgrowthincooperationwiththegovernment.Thefollowingreviewsironandsteelproductionandtechnologyduring2009.1.1.WorldSteelIndustryOnJanuary22,2010,theWorldSteelAssociation(WSA)announcedthatworldcrudesteelproductionin2009totaled1219.71milliontons.ThebreakdownbycountryisshowninTable1.Basedonthisinformation,thefollowingfeaturescanbenoted:(1)Recentworldcrudesteelproductionpeakedin2007at1345.82milliontons,andthendeclinedby1.4%in2008,fallingto1326.45milliontons.Continuingthistrendin2009,crudesteelproductionrecordedan8.0%decreaselastyear.(2)In2009,crudesteelproductiondeclinedinalmostallmainsteel-producingcountriesduetothedeteriora-tioninworldeconomicconditions.However,produc-tionincreasedintheNo.1rankingcountry,China,andtheNo.5country,India.Inparticular,China’scrudesteelproductiongrewby13.5%fromtheprevi-ousyear.Asaresult,Chinesecrudesteelproductionfor2009,at567.84milliontons,accountedforap-proximately47%oftotalworldcrudesteelproduc-tion.(3)InbothJapanandthemainEUcountries,thedecreasefromthepreviousyearexceeded20%in2009.AnevenlargerdecreasewasseenintheUnitedStates,wherecrudesteelproductionfellby36.4%fromtheProductionandTechnologyofIronandSteelinJapanduring2009TheTechnicalSociety,theIronandSteelInstituteofJapan777©2010ISIJReviewFig.1.Actualandexpectedgrossdomesticproduct.Source:re-portofCSTP.previousyear.Ontheotherhand,thedecreaseinRus-siawasonly12.5%,makingittheworld’sNo.3rank-ingsteelproducingcountry.Similarly,thedecreaseinSouthKoreawasalsolimitedto9.4%.ThefollowingdescribesoverviewoftheconditionsinChinaandIndia,whichrecordedincreasesfromtheprevi-ousyear.InChina,productionoffinishedsteelproductsshowedatemporarydecreasingtendencyduetotheeffectsofthefinancialcrisisof2008.However,becausethegov-ernmentimmediatelyimplementedpublicly-fundedeco-nomicstimulusmeasures,productionfortheyearshowedlargegrowth,supportedbyfirmgrowthintheautomotiveindustrydrivenbythestimulusmeasures,andincreasedde-mandforinfrastructureconstructionfortheShanghaiExpoopeningin2010aswellasotherprojects.Inparticular,Chi-neseautomobileproductioncontinuedtosetnewrecords,asunitproductionin2009reached13.79million,fora48%increasefrom2008.ThismadeChinatheworld’slargestautomobile-producingcountry.Indiaalsoextricateditselffromtheeffectsofthe2008financialcrisisandhasnowresumedhigheconomicgrowth,witharealGDPgrowthratethatisreturningtoitspre-financialcrisislevel.Inthemaindemandsectorsforironandsteel,inconstruc-tion,residentialdevelopmentisaccele