Updated as of November 2005

Consolidation, the Name of the Game.

Japan's annual production of crude steel fell from a peak of 119.3 million metric tons in 1973, to below 100 million metric tons for five consecutive years after 1992, except for 1995, when it recovered moderately to 101.6 million tons. After 1997, crude steel production stayed above 100 million tons, except for 1998 and 1999, when it fell again to 94 million tons. However, steel production has increased since 1999, totaling 112.72 metric million tons in 2004.

The total value of Japan's steel output amounted to 14,140 billion yen in 2004, while the industry supported approximately 208,095 employees at about 4,400 establishments. Figures for the industry in 1990 show 18,269 billion yen in total sales, involving 338,000 employees, and the production of 110 million tons of crude steel. Japan was the top steel producer in the world, even in terms of crude steel production, until the mid-1990s, when it was overtaken by China, whose steel production increased rapidly to over 150 million tons, accounting for a 17.6 percent share of global production in 1999, 17.4 percent in 2000 and 20.2 percent in 2001. Japan's share stayed around 13 percent for the same period.

Japan's steel production in the latter part of the 1990s was primarily due to a voluntary restraint on exports to the U.S., while domestic demand remained sluggish as the production of many primary metal products, such as automobiles, went off-shore and the Japanese economy went into recession.

Japan exported 33 million tons of steel products worth 3,253 billion yen in 1985. By 2004, the volume of exports remained roughly the same at 34.9 million tons but the value decreased sharply to 2,519 billion yen, due primarily to the sharp revaluation of the yen against the U.S. dollar that took place during the preceding decade.

Exports have moderately recovered in terms of tonnage starting from 1998, but in terms of total value, lost ground or stayed at the same level, as the yen became strong during 1998 and 1999.

Imports of steel products surged from 1985 to 1990 when the Japanese economy expanded, ending up in a bubble that ultimately burst.

The peak year for imports was 1990 when Japan imported 11.7 million tons of steel products worth 662 billion yen, after which the figures began to decrease, bottoming in 1999. Imports have increased since 2002. In 2004, Japan imported 7.0 million tons of steel products worth 602 billion yen, up drastically from 304.8 billion yen in 2002.

In 2001, the value of imports was 338 billion yen, down 15 percent from 394 billion yen in 2000, as the Japanese economy was threatened with a deflationary spiral. The industry mood ever since has been cautious.

Japan's steel companies have experienced significant improvement in both sales and profits since their earnings hit bottom in FY2001. Ordinary profits of the four largest steel companies, Nippon Steel, JFE, Sumitomo Metal Industries, and Kobe Steel, generated a historical high of 910 billion yen in FY2004.