In December 2024, Ukrainian steelmakers increased steel production by 4.1% compared to the same period in 2023, to 547 thousand tons from 520 thousand tons, and by 1.1% compared to the previous month, when they produced 541 thousand tons.
At the same time, Ukraine ranked 23rd among 71 countries in the ranking of global producers of these products compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
According to Worldsteel, in December 2024, steel production decreased compared to December 2023 in most of the top ten countries, except for China, India, Germany and Brazil.
The top ten steel producing countries in December are as follows: China (75.970 million tons, +11.8% by December 2023), India (13.582 million tons, +9.5%), Japan (6.907 million tons, -1.1%), the United States (6.684 million tons, -2.4%), and the Russian Federation (5.7 million tons, -8.6%), South Korea (5.209 million tons, -3.2%), Turkey (2.978 million tons, -7.6%), Germany (2.744 million tons, +4.1%), Iran (2.581 million tons, -8.2%) and Brazil (2.573 million tons, +1.8%).
Overall, in December 2024, steel production increased by 5.6% compared to the same period in 2023 to 144.460 million tons.
For 12 months of 2024, the top ten steel-producing countries are as follows: China (1 billion 5,090 million tons, -1.7%), India (149,587 million tons, +6.3%), Japan (84,009 million tons, -3.4%), the United States (79,452 million tons, -2.4%), the Russian Federation (70,690 million tons, -7%), South Korea (63, 531 million tons, -4.7%), Germany (37.234 million tons, +5.2%), Turkey (36.893 million tons, +9.4%), Brazil (33.741 million tons, +5.3%) and Iran (30.952 million tons, +0.8%).
In total, 71 countries produced 1 billion 839.449 million tons of steel in 2024, which is 0.9% less than in 2023.
At the same time, Ukraine produced 7.575 million tons of steel in 2024, up 21.6% from 6.228 million tons in 2023. The country was ranked 20th in 2024.
As reported, in 2023, China produced 1 billion 19.080 million tons at the level of the previous year), India (140.171 million tons, +11.8%), Japan (86.996 million tons, -2.5%), the United States (80.664 million tons, +0.2%), The Russian Federation (75.8 million tons, +5.6%), South Korea (66.676 million tons, +1.3%), Germany (35.438 million tons, -3.9%), Turkey (33.714 million tons, -4%), Brazil (31.869 million tons, -6.5%) and Iran (31.139 million tons, +1.8%).
In total, 71 countries produced 1 billion 849.734 million tons of steel in 2023, which is 0.1% less than in 2022.
At the same time, Ukraine produced 6.228 million tons of steel in 2023, which is 0.6% lower than in 2022. The country was ranked 22nd in 2023.
In 2022, the top ten steel-producing countries were as follows: China (1.013 billion tons, -2.1%), India (124.720 million tons, +5.5%), Japan (89.235 million tons, -7.4%), the United States (80.715 million tons, -5.9%), the Russian Federation (71.5 million tons, -7.2%), South Korea (65, 865 million tons, -6.5%), Germany (36.849 million tons, -8.4%), Turkey (35.134 million tons, -12.9%), Brazil (33.972 million tons, -5.8%) and Iran (30.593 million tons, +8%).
Ukraine ranked 23rd in 2022 with 6.263 million tons of steel produced (-70.7%).
In total, 64 countries produced 1 billion 831.467 million tons of steel in 2022, which is 4.3% less than in 2021.
Beer production in Ukraine in January-December 2024 reached 140.0 million dal, up 4.8% year-on-year, according to the website of the industry organization of brewers Ukrpyvo.
“The expert estimate of beer production in Ukraine (except for non-alcoholic beer with an alcohol content of up to 0.5 vol%) for 12 months of 2024 amounted to 140.0 million dal, which is 104.8% compared to the same period in 2023. At the same time, this figure is only 82.4% of the production volumes of 12 months of 2021,” the statement said.
As reported, beer production in Ukraine in 2023 increased by 7.8% compared to 2022. At the same time, in 2022, it fell by 27.9% compared to 2021 – to 122.8 million dal.
In 2024, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipro region) increased its rolled steel production by 72.1% compared to 2023, to 1 million 534,519 thousand tons from 891,438 thousand tons, and steel production by 69.9%, to 1 million 651,410 thousand tons from 971,846 thousand tons.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, pig iron production increased by 42.7% to 2 million 167.616 thousand tons from 1 million 519.183 thousand tons.
In addition, AMKR increased production of coke with 6% moisture by 48.5% to 1 million 254,743 thousand tons from 845,068 thousand tons, and iron ore concentrate by 71.7% to 7 million 820,682 thousand tons from 4 million 555,365 thousand tons. Iron ore production increased by 68.3% to 19 million 189.037 thousand tons from 11 million 401.600 thousand tons.
At the same time, it is noted that due to a number of problems, including a shortage of electricity supply, high electricity prices and the need to import a significant portion of it, as well as expensive logistics, and unfavorable price situation in the steel markets, AMKR was unable to break even in 2024.
In the middle of the year, the plant managed to temporarily achieve 50% utilization of its steelmaking capacity. The mining department operated at around 70-75% of pre-war production.
Mauro Longobardo, CEO of AMKR, stated that the war continues to affect all production-related processes.
“We have made every effort to achieve zero losses, we have done everything in our power to reduce costs within the company and optimize consumption. But this (breakeven – IF-U) did not happen for a number of reasons. The operation of one blast furnace and the fire at the coke oven battery due to blackout in the summer and its loss played a role here. In addition, costly logistics, unstable energy supply due to constant enemy attacks, a personnel crisis, depressed foreign markets where we can export our products – all this negatively affects our competitiveness and, accordingly, our financial results,” explained the CEO.
According to him, the plant’s business plan is focused on survival.
“So far, we are very cautious in our forecasts and realize that our results are far from the pre-war ones. We continue to invest only in a project that is strategically important for production – the construction of the Third Map tailings dump, the first phase of which we completed this year. For 2025, our goal remains the same: to be able to do it on our own without the financial assistance of the group that supports us in these difficult times. Despite all the challenges, AMKR remains in Ukraine and with Ukraine. We believe in the Victory and are ready to take part in the country’s recovery,” Longobardo summarized.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest rolled steel producer in Ukraine. It specializes in long products, including rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle and its production capacity is designed to produce over 6 million tons of steel, over 5 million tons of rolled products and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Berislav.
Zaporozhogneupor, Ukraine’s largest refractory products manufacturer and part of Metinvest Group, increased production by 25% year-on-year to 96 thousand tons in 2024.
According to the company, despite the difficulties caused by the full-scale war, Zaporozhogneupor’s team continues to work steadily, produce refractory products and provide quality services.
In 2024, Zaporozhogneupor produced about 96 thousand tons of refractory products, which is a quarter higher than in 2023. Consumers include the metallurgical, food, energy, and coke industries.
To ensure a high level of production, the company systematically monitors and improves the condition of its equipment and introduces new approaches to its operations. As a result, the level of emergency and unscheduled equipment downtime in 2024 was reduced by more than 20% compared to 2023.
“Our strategic goal for 2025 is to maintain our sales markets and, together with our partners, continue to support the Ukrainian economy,” said Artur Ivanchenko, CEO of Zaporozhogneupor.
“Zaporozhogneupor is Ukraine’s largest enterprise producing high quality refractory products and materials. The company produces chamotte, mullite, mullite-silica, mullite-corundum, periclase, periclase-chromite products, silicon carbide electric heaters and unmolded refractory materials. The company’s products are widely used in Ukraine, as well as in the CIS, Europe, Asia and Africa.
According to the third quarter of 2024, Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) owned 50.7899% of Zaporozhogneupor shares, while Zaporizhstal owned 49.2101%.
The authorized capital of the PrJSC is UAH 75.925 million.
Ruta, a major Ukrainian manufacturer of sanitary and hygienic paper products, whose management company is VGP JSC (Lutsk), produced UAH 1 billion 751 million worth of products in 2024, up 8.7% from 2023.
According to statistics provided by Ukrpapir Association toInterfax-Ukraine, the company has thus slightly accelerated the positive dynamics of production volumes compared to last year, which it reached in the first nine months of 2023.
In physical terms, the company’s production of toilet paper in rolls, slightly exceeding the 2023 figure, amounted to 133.54 million units, which remains the third best result in the industry after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill (272 million units) and Kokhava Paper Mill (137 million units).
The company produces pulp-based sanitary and hygienic products from imported base paper.
VGP’s portfolio includes dry and wet wipes, toilet paper, paper handkerchiefs, and kitchen towels. The assortment includes more than 180 items.
As reported, in 2023, VGP JSC produced products worth UAH 1 billion 611 million, up 64.8% year-on-year.
Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works is increasing the durability of its rolls by increasing the volume of rolled metal and improving its efficiency.
According to the company, the hot rolling shop systematically implements effective measures to improve production and reduce costs.
For example, last year, the rollers increased the stability of horizontal rolls at Slabbing 1150, which made it possible to roll 20 thousand tons more metal per coil. This resulted in an economic effect of about $18 thousand per year.
In addition, the specialists of the Cold Rolling Shop (CRS) implemented a combined technology for processing slabs, which led to a significant reduction in rejects. As a result, the economic effect amounted to $125 thousand per year.
We also worked productively on one of the most important indicators – the metal consumption ratio. A whole range of measures was implemented to reduce the amount of scrap metal by 2.2 kg per ton of rolled steel. These measures resulted in $475 thousand of economic effect per year.
“Zaporizhstal is one of the largest industrial enterprises in Ukraine, whose products are in great demand among consumers both in the domestic market and in many countries around the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of being integrated into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management PrJSC (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
