Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Alchevsk) and Dneprovsky Iron and Steel Works named after F. Dzerzhinsky (DMKD), the steelmaking subsidiaries of the Ukrainian steel producer Industrial Union of Donbass (ISD), have issued their preliminary production results for the first eight months of the current year.
Accordingly, in January-August 2010 Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Alchevsk) saw its crude steel production decline by 19.4 percent to 1.985 million mt, its finished steel products output drop by 18.5 percent to 1.829 million mt, its pig iron production fall by 20.8 percent to 1.769 million mt, while its agglomerate production declined by one percent to 2.938 million mt, all compared to January-August 2009.
In August this year, Alchevsk produced 223,000 mt of crude steel - up 62.8 percent, 178,000 mt of finished steel products - up 43.5 percent, 202,000 mt of pig iron - up 68.3 percent, and 402,000 mt of agglomerate - up 47.2 percent, all compared to July.
Meanwhile, during the first eight months of 2010, DMKD registered an approximate 24 percent decrease in its crude steel production to 1.771 million mt, a 25.2 percent drop in its finished steel product output to 1.672 million mt, a 21.8 percent fall in its pig iron production to 1.698 million mt, and around a 13 percent decrease in its agglomerate output to 2.797 million mt, all compared to the same period last year.
In August, DMKD produced 186,000 mt of crude steel - up 38.8 percent, 154,000 mt of finished steel products - up two percent, 168,000 mt of pig iron - up 40 percent, and 312,000 mt of agglomerate - up 21 percent, all compared to July this year.
In August this year, both Alchevsk and DMKD managed to significantly increase their capacity utilization levels to 42 percent and 55 percent respectively from 27 percent and 39 percent in July, mainly due to their agreement with the Ukrainian mining and steel producing company Metinvest Group on the partial resumption of iron ore supplies.
"Given Metinvest's plans to further boost supplies to these companies in September, these companies should boost output by 10-15 percent in the current month," analysts from Astrum Investment Management noted.