Japan Shipyards Face Extra Costs on Steel, Industry Chief Says

Masamoto Tazaki, chairman of the Shipbuilders' Association of Japan, which represents 20 shipyards, comments on rising steel prices and extra costs. Tazaki is also chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. The comments were made at a regular press conference in Tokyo yesterday. Japan is the second-largest shipbuilding nation by construction after South Korea. On higher steel prices:
``There were price increase requests from each steelmaker. The industry faces a difficult situation to accept the sharp and significant price increases.
``The Association will maintain good relations with the Japan Iron & Steel Federation, and exchange the information depending on each others' needs. We intend to continue talks about appropriate prices on premise of long-term stable supply of
steel. ‘`Members of the Association use 4.4 million tons of steel annually. We expect additional costs of 88 billion yen ($871 million) if steel prices increase 20,000 yen per ton.''