According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)’s forecast, Japan’s domestic crude steel output will be 23.49 million tons in the third quarter of this year, increasing by 8% compared to the preceding quarter.

The third-quarter steel demand was expected to be 2.61 million tons in Japan, a year-on-year increase of 10.5%, mainly supported by the automobile industry, whose demand will be approximately 2.5 million tons, a year-on-year hike of 23.4%, accounting for 40.4% of the total demand of manufacturing industry.

METI said that the problem of auto component supply still exists, but it will be solved gradually.