Japan's woes go on

摘要

Japan's crude steel output in January saw its biggest fall in 27 months since October 2009 amid the global crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers a year earlier. With the prospects that output in 2012 will decrease for a second year in a row, the prognosis remains depressing for domestic steel makers. Crude steel production fell 10.6% to 8.63mt in January as exports plunged, offsetting the recovery taking place in domestic manufacturing output. It was the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year falls.