Japan’s top steel-maker issued another warning to domestic manufacturing giants: Accept price hikes or stable supply may not be guaranteed any more.
A huge gap has been created between international and domestic steel prices, and Nippon Steel Corp. risks falling behind, Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori said, calling for "urgent hikes” so that the steel-maker can compete with major foreign rivals "on an equal footing.”
"Steel prices in Japan are very low, compared with internationally,” he said in an interview. "Particularly, we’ll need to urgently correct the contract prices that are settled through discussion with big users.”