According to a statement released by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (DCUD), in March this year Turkey's crude steel production rose by 24.9 percent year on year reaching 2.744 million mt, while the month-on-month increase was registered at 11.1 percent. In March, steel production using electric arc furnaces (EAF) increased by 36.7 percent, while production via blast furnaces (BFs) rose by 1.1 percent, both compared to March 2010.
On the other hand, in the first quarter of 2011, Turkey's crude steel output amounted to 7.9 million mt, increasing by 31 percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
In the first three months of this year, Turkey's steel billet output moved up by 24 percent to 5.8 million mt, and its slab output climbed by 55 percent to 2.1 million mt, both on year-on-year basis. Due to the steep increase in the country's slab output, the share of steel billet in total crude steel production declined from 77.5 percent to 73.4 percent, while the share of slab rose by 22.5 percent to 26.6 percent, both compared to Q1 2010
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2010-Q1 |
2011-Q1 |
Year-on year change (%) |
|
Billet |
22,650 |
20,524 |
21,827 |
4,695 |
5,824 |
24.0 |
Slab |
4,156 |
4,779 |
7,316 |
1,364 |
2,111 |
54.8 |
Total |
26,806 |
25,303 |
29,143 |
6,059 |
7,935 |
31.0 |
EAF |
19,772 |
17,741 |
20,905 |
3,940 |
5,857 |
48.7 |
BOF |
7,034 |
7,562 |
8,238 |
2,119 |
2,078 |
-1.9 |
X 1,000 mt
Due to the base effect arising from the steep decline in crude steel output in Q1 2010, the year-on-year increase rate in the first quarter of this year was high. However, this increase is expected to slow down in the coming months, according to the DCUD, and to settle at 15-20 percent. The DCUD said in its statement that Turkey managed to increase its monthly crude steel production in March, despite the demand contraction in its major export markets (Middle East and North Africa), by compensating with exports to other markets.