Nippon Steel has restarted another blast furnace that was taken offline as the COVID-19 pandemic undercut demand.

The company fired up its furnace in Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo on Tuesday. It's one of three domestic facilities suspended last year. The company restarted the blast furnace as steel demand for automobiles and construction machinery has recovered earlier than expected in Japan and abroad.

Last November, the firm restarted production at a blast furnace in Chiba Prefecture next to the capital. Nippon Steel says it hasn't decided when it will restart its last furnace that remains idle in western Japan.