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JFE Steel to shut blast furnace as demand falls
By JAY ALABASTER,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, December 26
TOKYO - JFE Steel Corp., one of the world's largest makers of steel, said Thursday it would stop production at one of its massive blast furnaces due to falling demand _ the first time it has done so in more than five years.
JFE expects demand for its steel products to fall 25 percent in the current October-March fiscal half compared to the previous six months, a spokesman said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.
The shutdown shows that the global economic slowdown _ and accompanying drop in consumer spending _ is beginning to affect producers of raw materials.
JFE was the world's third-largest steel producer last year by volume, according to the World Steel Association.
But the company has experienced falling orders from companies that make cars, electronics, heavy machinery and construction materials in recent months. Many companies in those sectors, including big names like Toyota and Sony, have announced production and job cuts of their own in recent weeks.
JFE had been scaling back production at all of its furnaces but determined that it was more efficient to shut one down completely, the first time it has done so since June 2004, the spokesman said.
Production at the furnace, which is located in Okayama Prefecture in southwest Japan, will be stopped in January. No date was given for when it will be fired up again.
The furnace accounts for about 11 percent of the company's steel production and cuts at other furnaces will still be necessary.
The steel maker expects steel shipments to be 11.5 million tons in the second half of the current fiscal year, down from 15.49 million tons in the first half.
The decline is not limited to Japan. On Wednesday, data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell in November for the fourth month in a row, including a fall in orders for steel and other primary metals.
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