September 06, 2008

Tokyo Steel raises H beam prices by 11%

It is reported that Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co, the biggest maker of steel girders in Japan, has raised H beam prices by 11% to a record to cover higher scrap metal prices and other material costs.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing in a statement said that it increased prices by JPY 12,000 (USD 116) a tonne for April. Japanese scrap prices last month jumped to a record on rising demand from China and South Korea and as a domestic slump in construction cut supply of used metal.

Mr Naoto Ohori MD of Tokyo Steel said that “Steel scrap prices are rising quickly and other materials are increasing along with energy costs, so we have to raise prices.”

Tokyo Steel, which cut output last year amid a housing slump in Japan, may reduce production further should customers balk at price increases, it said last week.