Nippon Steel mulls further production cuts

Japan's leading steel maker is looking to make further cuts to production capacity as domestic demand continues to fall.

Sources say Nippon Steel is weighing whether to mothball one of two blast furnaces in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The firm is reckoning with a domestic steel glut which comes as the coronavirus pandemic has pushed down demand.

Japanese steelmakers are also finding it difficult to sell to overseas markets, where they face growing competition from Chinese rivals.

Nippon Steel has already decided to shutter a plant in Hiroshima Prefecture by 2023. It also plans to temporarily close a blast furnace in Wakayama Prefecture by September of next year.

All in all, the moves will cut the firm's domestic production capacity by 20 percent.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210222_14/