Japan steel industry targets Asian markets

Nov 30, 2012 | 03:51 PM | Jo Isenberg-O’Loughlin

Tags  JISF, steel, Nippon Steel, Sumitomo Metal, Posco, Hebei, China, Taiwan Thailand

TOKYO — As it faces monumental currency, economic, geopolitical and global competitiveness challenges, Japan’s integrated steel industry is banking on innovation in the form of a technology push and targeted investments in Southeast Asia’s "little tigers" to capture growth in a global market long on supply and short on demand.

Members of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF) International Trade and Cooperation Group—part of JISF’s Market Research and International Economic Affairs division—spoke with AMM in Tokyo this past week on the health of Japan’s key consuming sectors, the pulse of its export markets and the rising tide of steel imports, particularly from South Korea.

The meeting took place as tensions continue to simmer between Japan and China over territorial rights to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and a steady shift in Japan’s market focus and growth strategy to Southeast Asia and away from the West and the United States. ....