Nov 6 2009
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8a02f3/japan_metals_repor) has announced the addition of the "Japan Metals Report Q4 2009" report to their offering.
Japan Metals Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, metals associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Japan's metals industry.
Japanese metals producers saw the market downturn ease in Q209 and Q309 as destocking was completed and demand revived with month-on-month (m-o-m) growth, but BMI's latest Japan Metals Report warns that over-capacity in Asia with massive growth in Korean capacity could thwart a full recovery to prerecession levels in the near term.
The Japanese economy emerged from recession in Q209, but domestic demand remains weak and there is uncertainty over whether an export recovery driven by global government stimulus efforts is sustainable. In the first eight months of 2009, Japanese crude steel output was down 36.0% y-o-y to 52.66mn tonnes. As BMI predicted in our previous quarterly report, the trend in crude output is upward, with no cuts expected in H209. In August output was up 8.5% m-o-m to 8.31mn tonnes, 51.6% up over the low-point seen in February, indicating that the industry was making a steady recovery. However, output was still down 18.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) in August, demonstrating that the industry was far from returning to pre-recession levels.
Strengthening Asian demand as a result of government stimulus spending has provided a short-term boost to steel exports. However, with export markets accounting for 40% of Japanese steel exports and Asia comprising 75% of exports, rapid steel capacity expansion in the region, led by South Korea, is a significant threat to Japanese mills. Automotive sheet steel and shipbuilding plate are the two areas where the country's competitors are likely to cause the most problems due to the slump in both sectors as the Korean market becomes less dependent on imports from Japan.
Key Topics Covered:
Executive Summary
SWOT Analysis
Global Metals Market Overview
Regional Overview
Industry Forecast Scenario
Macroeconomic Outlook
Competitive Landscape
Company Profiles
Global Assumptions
BMI Methodology
Companies Mentioned:
- Nippon Steel Corporation
- Sumitomo Metal Industries
Source: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/