Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest iron importer, is set to close four blast furnaces and cut production by 10% as it restructures its business to cope with lower demand and rising losses.
The decision comes as another blow to the beleaguered capesize bulker market after the Baltic Capesize Index slumped to a historic low this month.
Sources said Nippon Steel’s decision could potentially reduce long-haul iron-ore import demand by around 10m tonnes annually, roughly amounting to a year’s work for 10 capesize bulk carriers.
