Early years
Nippon Steel traces its roots to Japan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., established in 1934 through the merger of the Yahata Steel Works and several other steel producers with blast furnaces. In 1950, the company's steel production business was split into two companies: Yawata Iron & Steel (八幡製鉄, Yahata Seitetsu), and Fuji Iron & Steel (富士製鉄, Fuji Seitetsu).[10]
These two companies merged again in 1970 to form Nippon Steel Corporation (新日本製鐵, Shin Nippon Seitetsu). Beginning in early 1981, however, the company cut production and saw a sharp decline in profit that fiscal year. Forced to close furnaces, the company exhibited a typical Japanese economic aversion to layoffs, opting instead to offer standard early retirement enticements but also less conventional schemes such as a mushroom cultivation venture that used the surplus heat created by steel furnaces to temperature control a fecund fungi complex.[11]
Troubled times
Attributing the drop to higher material costs, the company entered into another troubled year. In 1983, the company reported the end of the fiscal year (March 31) would reveal Nippon Steel was in an even more beleaguered situation. A fall in demand brought about a 39 percent tumble in profits from an already weak previous year.
During this time, the entire Japanese steel industry struggled in a period of turmoil as other nations such as South Korea, with only a fraction of labor costs, won over business. The company announced a loss in 1986, prompting a determined effort to diversify away from the moribund "smokestack" industrial sector and to provide new work for thousands of employees that would be transferred from closing furnaces. During the 1980s and 1990s, Nippon Steel permanently closed blast furnaces at three of its eight primary domestic locations: Kamaishi (1989), Sakai (1990), and Hirohata (1993).[12][13][14]
Diversification
Nippon Steel expanded or further established itself in semiconductors, electronics, a theme park called Space World, software, and even human resources products. Most notable was Librex Computer Systems, Nippon Steel's attempt to sell notebook computers abroad that lasted from 1990 to 1993.[15][16] The company bucked seven struggling but profitable years when it returned to loss in 1993. Again, thousands of employees would be transferred to new operations. Due to cost-cutting, the company returned to health in 1995. However, Nippon Steel reported earnings in 1999 suffered from an overwhelming charge needed to cover pension costs, a problem not uncommon for shrinking industrial giants. 2002 and 2003 would be back-to-back loss years, but robust demand for steel in the People's Republic of China returned the company to profitability. (However, Nippon Steel had an operating profit for 2002 and 2003. The losses were made of extraordinary losses because of reevaluation of real estate and securities of the company among others.) Following a triple merger of Sumitomo Corporation, Kinzoku Steel Corporation (Sumikin Bussan), and the existing Nippon Steel, NSSC was formed as these companies' conglomerate Stainless Steel division.[17]
Merger
In early 2011, Nippon Steel announced plans to merge with Sumitomo Metal Industries. With Nippon Steel producing ~26.5 million tonnes of steel per year and Sumitomo making ~11 million tonnes, the merged entity would produce close to 37 million tonnes of crude steel per year. This volume of steel output would make Nippon Steel the second largest steelmaker in the world, putting it well ahead of Baosteel – the current number two (making ~31 mt steel / year) – although still well behind ArcelorMittal (who produced 77.5 mt crude steel in 2010).
On October 1, 2012, Nippon Steel formally merged with Sumitomo Metal Industries at a ratio of 0.735 Nippon Steel shares per Sumitomo Metal share.[18] The merged stock is listed (under number 5401, the old Nippon Steel number) as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp.[19][20] The logistics branches of both companies are announced to be merged on April 1, 2013, under the name "Nippon Steel & Sumikin Logistics Co., Ltd.", wholly owned by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation.[21]
Present
In May 2020, Nippon Steel announced that it would suspend operations of four furnaces, one of which permanently, as it booked an annual loss in FY 2019.[23] On June 18, 2025, Nippon Steel completed an acquisition of US Steel for a reported $14.1 billion, at $55-a-share.[24]
