The Epoch Times ByÂ
Nippon Steel Corp., one of the largest steel producers in the world, has announced that it could soon raise the price of steel, a move that can add to the inflationary pressure on the car industry.
There has been a sharp cost increase for input materials like coking coal and iron ore, Takahiro Mori, executive vice president of Japanâs biggest steelmaker, said in an interview with Bloomberg. The company will have to pass on the additional costs.
âOtherwise our profits will be squeezed,â Mori said. âThe biggest concern is the domestic construction sector,â he said. As Nippon Steel cannot shoulder the entire cost, âall we need is to win understanding from those customers through discussions.â
In an interview with Reuters, Mori indicated that the company could increase the price of its products by 30,000â40,000 yen ($236â$315) per ton. Over the past year, Nippon Steel had raised prices to record levels, by 50 percent, as the cost of raw materials surged. One of the key clients of the company is auto manufacturing giant Toyota Motor Corp.
