In July this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 70.80 million mt, 79.66 million mt and 122.95 million mt, decreasing by 1.4 percent, declining by 4.0 percent and rising by 6.4 percent year on year, respectively, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Monthly crude steel production fell below the 80 million mt mark for the first time this year and July production was also 4.2 percent less than in June. The production cuts in Tangshan, a major steelmaking hub in Hebei Province, amid the approach of the military parade on September 3 contributed to the decline in crude steel output in July, as well as seasonal factors with high temperatures, and the slowdown of demand
In the January-July period this year, China’s outputs of pig iron, crude steel and finished steel totaled 505.83 million mt, 594.47 million mt and 860.47 million mt, decreasing by 1.3 percent, declining by 3.1 percent, and increasing by 5.1 percent year on year, respectively.
The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) has announced that in early August (August 1-10) this year the average aggregate daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steel enterprises in China - all CISA members - totaled 2.074 million mt, up 4.7 percent compared to late July (July 21-31) this year. However, in total in August, steel production in China may indicate a decline again as from mid-August production cuts will be implemented strictly in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province region.