Japan’s Nippon Steel restarts Kashima blast furnace amid demand recovery

摘要

Singapore—Japan’s Nippon Steel restarted its No. 1 blast furnace at Kashima on Jan. 19, ahead of plans for an end-January restart, amid recovery in the domestic automotive industry. The 5,370 cu m furnace, which is run by its East Nippon Works, was placed on "banking" since April 16, 2020, due to lower demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. In early December, the steelmaker had said it was planning to restart the furnace by the end of January. With the restart of the No. 1 blast furnace, Nippon Steel now has 12 operational furnaces in Japan.