Tokyo 28 January 2011 01:46
Japan's steelmakers are turning more aggressive in their efforts to push through price hikes to offset rising input costs.
Nippon Steel, the country's biggest steelmaker, will raise its February list price on most flat products by ¥5,000 per tonne for both distributors and downstream end-users such as pipe producers.
This increase followed a similar hike on January orders, and is accompanied by a rise of around 11-12% in H-beams and 5% on tubes for January-March deliveries.
“We are facing higher raw material costs," a company official said. "But inventory levels in Japan have moderated a lot and the worst of the economic conditions seem to be ending. Because prices are now too cheap, we are using these factors to increase our prices.”
The company will seek further increases in coming months, a company official said.
Steelmakers face significant price hikes for Australian coal after recent floods in Queensland severely disrupted production.
Australian fob coal prices may increase to $400 per tonne for three-month contracts starting April 1, from $225 per tonne this quarter, according to Merrill Lynch. It had originally forecast prices to be around $330 per tonne.
JFE Steel, Japan's no.2 producer, said downgraded its full-year net profit forecast on Friday, blaming rising costs of coking coal and strong demand for raw materials from China.
The nation's EAF-based producers are facing their own cost burdens in the form of relentless increases in ferrous scrap prices.
In the past three months, the national average price for scrap has risen by almost 30% to more than ¥35,200 per tonne, while the country's largest EAF operator and effective benchmark price-setter, Tokyo Steel, is now paying as much as ¥38,5000 per tonne for its scrap requirements.
Faced with rising costs, Tokyo Steel has announced it is raising prices next month for the second straight month. The company said it will up flat product prices by ¥2,000 per tonne and long products by ¥3,000 per tonne, while warning that it will look to push through yet more increases after the Chinese New Year.
Kyoei Steel, meanwhile, is looking to boost its rebar prices by ¥7,000 per tonne, and Godo Steel is seeking a ¥10,000 per tonne rise in wire rod prices.
JFE Shape and Bars is also increasing its shapes prices by ¥5,000 per tonne amid indications of a recovery in the construction sector.
Figures released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation show that sales of H-beams by the country's stockists fell by 1.1% in December from the previous month, volumes were up by 2% year-on-year. Sales of light bars, meanwhile, rose 1.9% from November and were up by 10.3% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Nippon Steel noted that stockpiles of H-beams among its distribution network dropped by 0.2% by the end of December on rising sales.
“We are definitely seeing signs of a gradual improvement in demand from the construction sector. With our scrap costs still rising, we have to strongly increase our selling prices," said an official at one mini-mill.
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