Ukrainian steelmaking companies increased their production of rolled products by 75.9% year-on-year to 453 thousand tons from 257 thousand tons in January this year, according to preliminary data.
In 2022, Ukraine reduced its production of general rolled products by 72% compared to 2021, to 5.350 million tons.
In 2021, 19.079 million tons of rolled products were produced (103.5%).
Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMZ, formerly Dniprokoks), a part of DCH Steel of businessman Aleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH group, increased rolled metal output by 86.2% in 2023 compared to 2022, to 105.6 thousand tons, and coke output by 38.5%, to 292.7 thousand tons.
According to information in the corporate newspaper DCH Steel on Thursday, in December last year, the plant produced 5.2 thousand tons of rolled steel, reducing production by 35% compared to the previous month. Coke production decreased by 6% to 23.9 thousand tons in November 2023.
In 2022, the plant reduced rolled steel production by 74.2% compared to 2021, to 58.4 thousand tons, and coke production by 56.3%, to 211.3 thousand tons.
DMZ specializes in the production of steel, pig iron, rolled products and products made from them. On March 1, 2018, DCH Group signed an agreement to buy Dnipro Metallurgical Plant from Evraz.
Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises increased their production of rolled steel by 0.4% to 5.372 million tons in 2023, according to preliminary data, compared to 2022.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom on Wednesday, steel production decreased by 0.6% to 6.228 million tons last year.
Pig iron production for the period decreased by 6.1% to 6.003 million tons.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced production of total rolled products by 72% compared to 2021 – to 5.350 million tons, steel by 70.7% to 6.263 million tons, and pig iron by 69.8% to 6.391 million tons.
In 2021, the company produced 21.165 million tons of pig iron (103.6% compared to 2020), 21.366 million tons of steel (103.6%), and 19.079 million tons of rolled products (103.5%).
In 2023, Zaporizhzhia-based Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 57.2% compared to 2022, to 2 million 54.7 thousand tons.
According to the company’s information on Friday, steel production for the year increased by 65.4% to 2 million 466.9 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 35.3% to 2 million 718.9 thousand tons.
In 2023, the plant operated at an average of 70% of its capacity.
In December, Zaporizhstal produced 265.5 thousand tons of iron, 228.6 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 206.5 thousand tons of rolled products, compared to 262.7 thousand tons of iron, 240.8 thousand tons of steel, and 195.6 thousand tons of rolled products in the previous month, and 141.9 thousand tons of iron, 70.7 thousand tons of steel, and 57.7 thousand tons of rolled products in December 2022.
“The increase in production in December 2023 compared to December 2022 is due to the removal of blast furnace No. 2 from hot mothballing and the establishment of three blast furnaces,” the press release explains.
As noted, enemy shelling and destruction, interruptions in the supply of raw materials and energy, and disruption of logistics routes for the export of finished products due to the blockade of seaports in 2023 led to a reduction in steel and rolled products production at Zaporizhstal compared to pre-war levels. However, compared to 2022, the steelmaker increased production of steel products by increasing capacity utilization, finding new logistics routes for raw materials and sales, and expanding its product portfolio.
“The implemented anti-crisis solutions allowed us to stabilize the production process and refocus on more efficient work in the ever-changing wartime environment, maintain production and retain our team. In 2024, we plan to maintain production volumes, and, given the favorable conditions on foreign markets and demand for rolled steel in the domestic market, to increase production capacity utilization,” said Roman Slobodianiuk, CEO of Zaporizhstal, as quoted by the press service.
As reported, in 2022, Zaporizhstal reduced its rolled steel output by 60.4% compared to 2021, to 1 million 304.3 thousand tons, steel by 61.7%, to 1 million 491.3 thousand tons, and pig iron by 54.3%, to 2 million 9.9 thousand tons.
“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 of the world.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
In January-November of this year, Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel output by 47.9% year-on-year to 1 million 847.9 thousand tons.
According to the company’s information on Friday, steel production during this period increased by 57.6% to 2 million 238.3 thousand tons, and pig iron production by 31.3% to 2 million 453.2 thousand tons.
In November 2023, Zaporizhstal produced 262.7 thousand tons of iron, 240.8 thousand tons of steel, and shipped 195.6 thousand tons of rolled products, compared to 267.3 thousand tons of iron, 251.7 thousand tons of steel, and 208.6 thousand tons of rolled products in the previous month, and 143.9 thousand tons of iron, 85.8 thousand tons of steel, and 74.8 thousand tons of rolled products in November 2022.
“The increase in production in November 2023 compared to the same period last year is due to the removal of blast furnace No. 2 from hot mothballing and the establishment of three blast furnaces,” the press release explains.
As a reminder, due to the escalation of hostilities in the region, Metinvest Group put some of Zaporizhstal’s equipment into hot mothballing mode in early March 2022. At the end of March of the same year, the plant partially resumed the operation of its cold rolling mill to produce and ship cold-rolled coils to European customers. A month after the forced shutdown, the plant brought its equipment out of mothballing and partially resumed production. The plant is currently operating at an average of 70% of its capacity.
As reported, in 2022, Zaporizhstal reduced its rolled steel output by 60.4% compared to 2021, to 1 million 304.3 thousand tons, steel by 61.7%, to 1 million 491.3 thousand tons, and pig iron by 54.3%, to 2 million 9.9 thousand tons.
“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. The plant specializes in high-quality steel hot-rolled coils, hot-rolled sheets, cold-rolled sheets, cold-rolled coils made of carbon and low-alloy steels, as well as steel strips, ferrous tin, and bent sections.
The main consumers of the products are producers of welded pipes, automotive, transport and agricultural machinery companies, and manufacturers of household appliances.
“Zaporizhstal is in the process of integration into Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%).
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
In January-October of this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased their consumption of rolled metal products by 94.51% compared to the same period last year, up to 2 million 903.5 thousand tons.
According to a press release issued by Ukrmetallurgprom, 937.5 thousand tons, or 32.29% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in January-October 2023, Ukrainian steelmakers produced 4.37 million tonnes of rolled metal products (87% compared to the same period in 2022), of which, according to the Expert Scientific Council (ESC) of UAVtormet, about 2.4 million tonnes, or 55.9%, were exported. In the same period of 2022, the share of exports was 79.7% (4 million tons with a total production of 5.02 million tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries for 10 months of 2023 amounted to 43.14%, which is comparable to the same period in 2022 (44.34%). The share of flat products in export deliveries for 10 months of 2023 is almost the same as in January-October 2022 (37.02% and 37.25%, respectively); the same picture is observed for long products (19.84% in 2023 vs. 19.41% in 2022).
“In January-October 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 2903.5 thousand tons of rolled steel, of which 937.5 thousand tons, or 32.29%, were imported. In the same period of 2022, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1492.7 thousand tons, of which 475.7 thousand tons, or 31.87%, were imported. Thus, for 10 months of 2023, there was an increase in the domestic market capacity by 94.51% compared to January-October 2022, with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 0.42%,” the press release states.
The structure of imports in January-October 2023 is still characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (75.50% and 24.44%, respectively); in the same period of 2022, the dominance of flat products over long products was also significant (66.16% and 32.69%, respectively).
The main export markets for Ukrainian steel products in January-October 2023, according to the data of the ETS “UAVtormet”, are the countries of the European Union (84.1%) and the rest of Europe (7.3%).
Other European countries ranked first among metallurgical importers in 10 months of 2023 (39.9%), followed by the EU-27 (38.2%), and Asia (19.7%).
