Japan's steel production has bottomed out but will need about three more years before a full-scale recovery is achieved, Hiroshi Sato, president of Kobe Steel Ltd., said recently.
Steelmakers will have to remain cautious in their business management before economic activity picks up in the United States and Russia, Sato said.
The rate of capacity utilization at Kobe Steel hit bottom in April and has since risen back to around 70 percent from about 60 percent earlier this year, he said.
"We expect the rate to rise further to some 80 percent later in 2009, though our money-losing trends will continue," he said.
Sato added that Kobe Steel is set to develop specialty steel products that are "strong and easy to process" in order to help automakers improve the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles — their priority.