JFE Steel to Temporarily Shut Down Blast Furnace Amid Declining Steel Demand

Japanese steel manufacturer JFE Steel announced that it will temporarily shut down a blast furnace. On April 2, the major Japanese steel manufacturer JFE Steel announced that it will suspend the operation of a blast furnace at its Kurashiki West Japan Works from mid-next month. The company stated that this is due to the anticipated continued severe business environment, including declining domestic and overseas steel demand and the tariff measures by the US Trump administration, but it will not affect employment.

JFE Steel indicated that the blast furnace to be temporarily shut down is the No. 3 blast furnace, one of the three blast furnaces at the Kurashiki Works of West Japan Works. The plan is to temporarily halt operations in mid-next month, stop air supply, and cease production when the plant can be restarted. JFE Steel operates seven blast furnaces in Japan, and with the shutdown of one of them, its crude steel capacity is expected to decrease by approximately 4 million mt/year, to around 22 million mt.