What will the IT revolution bring to Japanese steel?

摘要

While Japan's economy is seeing some bright signs and isanticipating recovery, stock prices of steel companies have plunged to recordlows. The financial market evaluates the Japanese steel sector as a 'loser'. Incontrast, information technology (IT) related sectors have enjoyed a skyrocketingboom in equity prices. This has attracted major trading firms and even largesteelmakers into competition to rebuild their marketing and distribution systemsbased on the new tool of e-commerce which is spotlighted as the 'dynamite' tobring about a revolution in selling steel.