Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) has announced that Nippon International Crankshaft Inc. (ICI), its joint venture subsidiary with Sumitomo Corporation which forges crankshafts in the US, has decided to build a new forging press line.

ICI, which has been operating in the US for 20 years, currently runs its three forging press lines at full capacity to respond to robust North American demand, producing approximately 2.7 million crankshafts per year. ICI has now decided to add a fourth forging press line to meet demand from customers. With forging press line No. 4, ICI's annual capacity will grow from the current 2.7 million crankshafts to 4 million per year.

According to NSSMC, car sales in North America are expected to grow by seven percent for the next five years. Japanese and Korean automakers are shifting their production to North America from their home countries. Three Detroit-based automakers are shifting from cast crankshafts to forged ones as they downsize and improve the performance of engines to meet higher fuel efficiency requirements.