Major Japanese Steel Producer Signals Price Hikes, May Push Up Car Prices

A file image taken inside Nippon Steel's iron mill plant at Kimitsu city in Chiba prefecture, suburban Tokyo. JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images

Nippon Steel Corp., one of the largest steel producers in the world, has announced that it could soon raise the price of steel, a move that can add to the inflationary pressure on the car industry.

There has been a sharp cost increase for input materials like coking coal and iron ore, Takahiro Mori, executive vice president of Japan’s biggest steelmaker, said in an interview with Bloomberg. The company will have to pass on the additional costs.