Ukrainian steelmakers cut steel production by 9% in March

n March, enterprises of the mining and metallurgical complex of Ukraine reduced their steel production by 9.1% compared to the corresponding period last year - up to 1.789 million tons.

The production of pig iron decreased by 4.6% in March to 1.750 million tonnes. Rolled steel production fell by 7.9% to 1.560 million tonnes.

    “Comparing March to March last year, we can see that we have a drawdown by all indicators. For example, 9.1% for steel. But March 2019 was the best month in terms of output since at least 2017. That is, the base of comparison is high. The capacity utilization rate in March this year corresponds to the average for the previous year and slightly worse than in January-February. Therefore, these figures are quite high considering the conditions in which the industry has been operating since the middle of the month. But the expectations are extremely negative. The current output is January-February. The crisis will prove to be full in April-May, ”explains Andriy Tarasenko, GMK Center Chief Analyst.

In the first quarter of this year, Ukrainian steelmakers increased their steel production by 3.5% compared to the same period in 2019 - up to 4.7 million tonnes. Steel smelting decreased by 3% to 5.342 million tonnes, iron - by 2% to 5.105 million tonnes.

It should be noted that the enterprises of MMC of Ukraine increased steel production by 0.4% in January-February compared to the same period last year - up to 3,553 million tons. pig iron decreased by 0.7% to 3.36 million tonnes.

For 2019, Ukrainian MMC reduced steel production by 1.2% - to 20.85 million tons. Iron production fell by 2% - to 20.6 million tons, and rolled products - by 0.9%, to 18.2 million tons , compared to 2018.