Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Japan’s largest maker of construction girders, will increase prices of some products by as much as 4.2 percent because of rising raw material costs.
The Tokyo-based company will raise the price of construction products including deformed steel bar, wire rod, and I-beam by 2,000 yen ($22.3) a metric ton for contracts starting next month, it said today.
Rising steel production in China, the world’s largest maker, will likely spur higher costs for materials including iron ore and steel scrap, pressuring earnings for the industry, Managing Director Naoto Ohori told reporters in Tokyo. Iron ore prices may rise 20 percent next year, Samsung Securities said yesterday.
“Raw material costs are likely to go up,” Ohori said. “Cost increases would be unavoidable for steelmakers.”
Dr. Duru