China’s crude steel production dropped below 80 million mt in July for the first time this year, down 3.1% year-on-year for the January–July period.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, July output reached 70.80 million mt of pig iron, 79.66 million mt of crude steel, and 122.95 million mt of finished steel, marking annual declines of 1.4%, 4%, and 6.4%, respectively. Crude steel output in July also fell 4.2% compared to June.
The decline was largely driven by production cuts in Tangshan, China’s key steelmaking hub in Hebei Province, ahead of the upcoming military parade on September 3, in addition to seasonal factors such as high temperatures and slowing demand.
For the first seven months of the year, China’s total output reached 505.83 million mt of pig iron, 594.47 million mt of crude steel, and 860.47 million mt of finished steel, down 1.3%, 3.1%, and 5.1% year-on-year, respectively.
Meanwhile, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) reported that the average daily crude steel output of large and medium-sized steelmakers (its members) reached 2.074 million mt in August 1–10, up 4.7% from July 21–31. However, overall steel output in August is expected to decline further, as stricter production curbs are being enforced in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region starting mid-August.
