TOKYO — Steel products in Japan have become cheaper than water by weight, plummeting in price due to an intense competition among distributors, undermining consolidation efforts by the steelmakers that had been increasing prices.
The average price of a 1-liter bottle of mineral water from Suntory Beverage & Food was 156 yen ($1.09) in March, up 5% year-on-year, according to Nikkei POS, which collects sales information from supermarkets and other stores nationwide.
