According to a statement released by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), narrower spreads between raw material and finished steel prices, increasing volumes of cheap imports in Turkey, the ongoing competitiveness of the Turkish steel industry due to high input costs, and strong competition in the international markets have all contributed to the significant fall in Turkey's crude steel output.
In November, Turkey's crude steel production fell below 2.6 million mt, decreasing by 7.2 percent year on year and by 5.1 percent compared to the previous month. In November, Turkey's crude steel output by electric arc furnaces declined by 13.4 percent year on year to 1.65 million metric tons, while crude steel production by integrated plants increased by 6.3 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, in the January-November period of the current year Turkey's crude steel production decreased by eight percent year on year to 28.81 million metric tons. In the given period, Turkey's crude steel output by electric arc furnaces declined by 14.6 percent to 18.73 million metric tons, while production by integrated plants increased by 7.5 percent to 10.07 million metric tons, both year on year.
In the January-November period, Turkey's billet output decreased by 6.2 percent to 21.24 million metric tons, while its slab output declined by 12.7 percent to 7.56 million metric tons, both on year-on-year basis.