昭和初期八幡製鉄所の生産費動向

抄録

In the Showa Depression, the State-owned Yawata Iron Works showed a loss, but it recovered soon and Yawata's bureaucrats carried out a scheme of merging Yawata with major private firms (seitetsu godo). Why did Yawata's bureaucrats carry out it in spite of the recovery from the Depression ? The aim of this paper is to analyze how Yawata recovered from it and to suggest the attitude of Yawata's bureaucrats towards the merger movement. The following facts were found out. (1) Yawata made gross profits in 1932 as much as in a level of the pre-Depression period. The main factor of the recovery was a decline in the manufacturing cost. (2) A fall in the materials and fuel cost contributed most to the decline in the manufacturing cost. (3) The fall in the materials and fuel cost was due to both an increase in its productivity through the rationalization program and a decline in materials and fuel prices. These facts suggest that Yawata's bureaucrats did not carry out the scheme of the merger in urgent need of reducing the manufacturing cost. To clarify further why Yawata's bureaucrats thought that it was necessary to realize the scheme of it, we need to examine the decision-making process of Yawata towards the merger.