Posted on 08 Apr 2019
Japan’s second-largest integrated steelmaker JFE Steel has raised its crude steel output loss estimate stemming from problems at three of its blast furnaces to 1.8 million mt over October 2018-April 2019 from its earlier estimate of 1.4 million mt, a company spokesman said Friday.
The loss from its No. 4 blast furnace at the Fukuyama section of its West Japan works, which encountered issues on January 5 and was initially slated to resume at the end of February, has been revised up to 700,000 mt from 300,000 mt after its return to normal production was delayed to April 3, the spokesman said. The estimated output loss from the No. 2 blast furnace at the Kurashiki section of its West Japan works, which encountered issues on October 23 and returned to normal production in early February, was earlier estimated at up to 700,000 mt, and from its No. 6 blast furnace at the Chiba section of its East Japan Works, which encountered issues on December 13 and returned to normal production in mid-January, at up to 400,000 mt.
The JFE spokesman said the company drew on production from other blast furnaces and renegotiated delivery periods with customers during the slowdowns.
“But we had to ask for support from other integrated mills for some products,” he said. “We are now operating at the full capacities and will continue trying our best for product deliveries,” he said.
JFE has eight blast furnaces across Japan and reported crude steel output of 28.46 million mt for fiscal 2017-18 (April-March). Its production data for fiscal 2018-19 is due for release on May 14.
