Posted on 22 Oct 2026
Japanese steel distributors and processors say Monday's announcement from leading mini-mill Tokyo Steel Manufacturing of its Yen 3,000/tonne ($19/t) across-the-board rise for product list prices for November sales was as expected. One described the rise as realistic, but the universal concern remains whether the increases can be passed along to steel end users.
The increase for long steel products such as rebars and H-beams was Tokyo Steel's first for this category in four months, while the rise for coils, sheets and plates was its second in two months, the EAF maker having raised prices of all its flat-rolled items by Yen 2,000-3,000/t last month for current month shipments, as Mysteel Global reported.
The mini-mill's decision means that its price for 100x100-350x350 mm H-beams climbs to Yen 119,000/t, that for its 9-40 mm thick heavy plates rises to Yen 113,000/t, its 'base size' rebars 13-25 mm diameter are now listed at Yen 96,000/t, and that for 1.7-6 mm pickled coils rises to Yen 112,000/t.
Explaining the company's decision to Japanese media Monday, Gaku Ito, Tokyo Steel's deputy general manager of sales, said candidly that costs are rising and will almost certainly continue to do so.
"We cannot raise prices based on cost increases alone, so we decided on the amount (Yen 3,000/t) after taking demand trends into account," he said. "The latest increase primarily reflects higher energy costs, including electricity, although ferrous scrap prices are also strengthening," he added.
Last Friday, Tokyo Steel raised scrap buying prices at several works, adding Yen 1,000/t to H2 buying prices at its Utsunomiya works in the northern Kanto Plain and at its Tokyo Bay satellite yard effective to take these to Yen 51,000/t. The increase was the company's fifth since September 19 and took the total rise since then to Yen 3,500/t, Mysteel Global notes.
Although both the size of Tokyo Steel's rise and the increase itself were expected by steel retailers, the challenge for them remains the price pass-through to customers at a time when demand is patchy. "Steel frame demand for building construction continues to be sluggish, and since mid-September, the market has lacked strength," a dealer in section steel in the Kanto region remarked. "(Tokyo Steel's) price increase is a clear catalyst for further gains (and) it should inspire customers to have a higher price perspective," industry daily, Tekko Shimbun, quotes him as saying.
Yet the Tekko is guarded, pointing out that while steelmakers are rushing to adjust sales prices, market growth is slow, and the ramp-up at the distribution stage has not caught up. "Not only manufacturers but also distributors are seeing worsening profitability and are urging urgent price correction," it notes. "But with the demand recovery uncertain, attention is now focused on whether (steel) distributors can boost the market by avoiding accepting low-priced orders and by raising their voices for increases," it observed.
Source:Mysteel Global
