Nippon Steel Restarts Furnace As Demand Rises
Japan's leading steelmaker is showing signs of a continuing recovery in the global economy. Nippon Steel says it will restart another furnace that's been offline due to the pandemic slowdown.
Executives say they plan to fire up a blast furnace in Ibaraki Prefecture near Tokyo by the end of January.
It's one of three domestic blast furnaces Nippon Steel suspended amid the outbreak.
Last month, the firm restarted a furnace in Chiba Prefecture, also near Tokyo. It cited greater demand for steel used in cars.
The company says it is putting its second furnace back online as demand has picked up even further.
Executives say they've yet to determine when they'll restart the third furnace in western Japan.
