Nippon Steel Corporation has been lowering the tapping ratio of blast furnaces, extending the time between blasting, and taking other measures to reduce overall steel output volume. Responding to the drop in demand for steel products, however, the company has decided to implement additional measures as follows:
-Move up the scheduled blow off (suspension of operation) to renovate the No. 2 blast furnace of Hokkai Iron & Coke Corporation that has the pig iron facilities in the Muroran Works from the beginning of July 2020, as soon as preparations are completed.
-The banking* of the No. 2 blast furnace at the Kyushu Works Yawata area (Kokura) will be carried out from the beginning of July 2020, as soon as preparations are completed. The No.2 blast furnace is planned to be shutdown by around the end of FY2020.1H.
* Banking is to take measures to temporarily stop blast furnace production but make it possible to restart production at a later date by stopping the air blast flow.
Nippon intends to continue responding to changes in steel demand globally and carrying out prompt and effective production adjustment.
Courtesy of Nippon Steel Corporation.