Nissan and Nippon agree to steel price increase

By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 6/19/2007 1:58:00 PM

If you’re paying more for steel these days, you’re not alone. Automotive giant Nissan recently agreed to steel price increases of more than 10% for specialty steel used to make auto parts from its major steel supplier Nippon Steel.

"It's a bit of a surprise. If the price is raised by [10%] as reported and the rise is implemented retroactive from April, it's good news for large steelmakers' first quarter earnings," said Takashi Aoki, vice president at the equity investment division at Fuji Investment Management in a Reuters report.

The Nikkei business daily newspaper also reported that the two companies are also likely to agree to a price rise of around 5% for steel sheet used to make car bodies.