Just like Iranian rebar, the county's I-beam production is also suffering from a lack of billet in the market.
According to the latest figures, Iranian Esfahan Steel Co. and the Iran National Steel Industrial Group jointly produced about 1.4 million metric tons of I-beam during the past Iranian year 1385 (ended March 20, 2007). This production level falls short of the combined annual I-beam production capacity of these two plants which stands at about 1.8 million metric tons.
Currently, the Iranian domestic demand for I-beam is around 2.5 million metric tons. With the completion of Sahand Steel and Sabalan Steel (both to produce I-beam), an additional capacity of about five million metric tons of I-beam will be available for the market. Yet, there is a real danger that these new mills will not be able to produce any I-beam due to the scarcity of billet in the market.