METI released a report of its studies made on "enhancement and future outlook of the Japanese steel industry" which discussed measures to improve the industry's competitiveness and medium to long range strategies. Major assumptions and suggestions included are as follows.The steel industry will remain an important sector of the Japanese economy.Steel output may be reduced to 90 million tons in ten years from the current level of 100 million tons due to changes in the operating environment.The industry should build up strong corporate base to be viable with the 90-million-ton level while maintaining the capacity to produce 100 million tons.In order to achieve the above;Redundancy should be eliminated through consolidating production at efficient facilities, the number of companies operating in the industry be reviewed and collaboration beyond the corporate boundary be expedited for early realization of improved productivity.
展开▼
