TOKYO: Japan’s crude steel output is expected to fall 4.2% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier amid slow automobile production due to a shortage of chips and components, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Tuesday.

It would mark the second straight quarterly decline. METI estimated crude steel output at 23.33 million tonnes for the three-month period, down from 24.35 million tonnes a year earlier, as parts supply disruptions continued to affect Japanese automakers’ global production.

But it will book a 1.1% increase from 23.08 million tonnes in the January-March quarter. Demand for steel products, including those for exports, is predicted to decline 0.5% to 20.98 million tonnes in April-June versus a year earlier, the ministry said, citing an industry survey. Exports from the world’s third-biggest steel producer are forecast to fall 0.4% to 6.9 million tonnes.