Posted on 23 Aug 2022
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing, Japan's leading electric-arc-furnace steel producer, has decided to cut its list prices for coils, sheets, square pipes and rebar by Yen 5,000-8,000/tonne ($36-58/t) for domestic sales in September to bring its listed prices closer into line with actual market prices, the company announced on August 22.
During March-May, the mini-mill had added a total of Yen 13,000/t to prices of all its products – to transfer rises in production costs – but had rolled over all prices for June-August, as reported.
Yuji Komatsuzaki, the company's managing director, said that sheet product prices have weakened under the influence of lower prices of imported materials and that Tokyo Steel had lowered its to match with current market prices. "We have adjusted our prices to the low level of market prices so we see this as a fresh start," he explained. "But production costs such as power charges and prices of auxiliary materials are rising, so these will have to be reflected in our prices," he told Mysteel Global.
Tokyo Steel is supplying rebars mainly in western Japan, where the rebar prices have been softening, so it has also adjusted its rebar list prices to the same level as market prices in western Japan, he added.
As for its production volume in August, Tokyo Steel plans to produce 245,000 tonnes of finished carbon steel – lower by 10,000 tonnes from July. The total includes 105,000 tonnes of HRC (with 15,000 tonnes for export), 110,000 tonnes of H-beams, 20,000 tonnes of plates and 10,000 tonnes of other products such as rebars and square pipes. The director explained the decline in output is because of summer shutdowns.
Komatsuzaki also said that the latest bids his company is receiving from overseas buyers for its 3mm SPHC HRC are at $650-670/t FOB, down $80/t on month, and those for its H-beams are at $870-890/t FOC, $30/t lower on month. "But the bids are too low (so) we are stepping back from receiving export orders now," he added.
Source:Mysteel Global
