A total of 3.52 million tons of finished and semi-finished steel products were exported from Iran during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 21) to register a 30.1% year-on-year decline, according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association.
Semi-finished steel made up 2.56 million tons of the total volume, down 19% YOY.
Billet and bloom had the lion’s share of semis exports with an aggregate of 1.98 million tons, 6% less compared with last year's corresponding period. Slab followed with 583,000 tons, down 45% YOY.
Meanwhile, exports of finished steel products declined by 49% to 960,000 tons in H1.
Rebar accounted for the largest portion of finished steel products exported from Iran during the six-month period, with 642,000 tons. The total volume of Iran’s rebar exports experienced a 47% fall compared with the same period of last year.
Hot-rolled coil followed with 142,000 tons, registering a 52% decrease compared with the first half of the previous fiscal year.
Beams came next with 68,000 tons, down 24% YOY; followed by L-beam, T-beam and other types with 60,000 tons, down 44% YOY; coated coil with 30,000 tons, down 71% YOY; and cold-rolled coil with 18,000 tons, down 76% YOY.
Exports of direct-reduced iron dropped 71% YOY to 174,000 tons, ISPA figures show.
Khouzestan Steel Company was the biggest exporter of steel from Iran in H1.
According to the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, the mill, located in the southwestern Khuzestan Province, exported 672,184 tons of slab, bloom and billet during the period, higher than other Iranian steelmakers, 33% less year-on-year.
Bloom exports had the lion’s share of KSC exports with 361,138 tons, down 41% YOY. Slab exports came next with 188,643 tons down 21% YOY, followed by billet with 122,403 tons, down 17% YOY.
During the sixth month of the current fiscal year (Aug. 22-Sep. 21), KSC's exports dropped 43% YOY to 65,052 tons. The company did not have any slab exports during the month. Its bloom exports dropped 16% YOY to 60,478 tons.
KSC exported a record high of 2.76 million tons in the last fiscal year (March 2017-18), up 34% YOY.
Esfahan Steel Company’s exports totaled 460,451 tons in H1 to register a 19% year-on-year decline. The company’s rebar exports witnessed a 16% YOY decrease to reach 88,989 tons. Beam exports amounted to 33,565 tons, up 14% YOY.
ESCO's exports during the sixth month went down by 165% to 85,937 tons.
Mobarakeh Steel Company's exports amounted to 284,062 tons in H1, down 62% YOY. Slab and bar topped the company’s exports with 146,978 tons, marking a drop of 67% YOY, followed by hot-rolled coil with 70,138 tons (down 61%) and hot-rolled sheets with 33,287 tons, down 52%.
MSC’s exports during the sixth month of the current fiscal year dipped by 14% to 137,423 tons. Together with its subsidiaries, Mobarakeh Steel Company is the largest flat steel producer in the Middle East and North Africa region, accounting for 1% of Iran’s GDP.
South Kaveh Steel Company came next with the export of 283,400 tons of billet in H1 to post a 31% YOY fall. About 72,000 tons of the volume were exported during the sixth month, up 85% YOY.
Chadormalu Iron Ore Processing Company followed with 268,573 tons of billet, nearly 30,000 tons of which were shipped during the sixth fiscal month. It was the only major company recording an increase in exports during the first half of the fiscal year.
IMIDRO’s data show a 116% rise in the company's H1 exports and a 46% jump in exports during the sixth month.
Hormozgan Steel Company exported 248,677 tons of slab in H1 to mark 33% decline YOY, 58,712 tons of which was in the sixth month (down 4% YOY).
74% Rise in Imports
Unlike exports, imports of finished and semi-finished steel products saw a significant increase during the period under review compared with last year’s corresponding period.
The ISPA report shows that steel imports in H1 stood at 397,000 tons, up 74% YOY.
Semis imports, which only consisted of billet and bloom, made up 3,000 tons of the total figure, 50% higher than 2,000 tons in last year's H1. Billet and bloom imports amounted to 2,000 tons, up 100% whereas the import of slab remained unchanged at 1,000 tons.
Imports of finished steel jumped 74% YOY to 394,000 tons. The imports mostly included HRC with 153,000 tons, up 378%; coated coil with 109,000 tons, up 25%; CRC with 94,000 tons, up 59%; L-beam, T-beam and other types with 19,000 tons, down 17%; rebar with 13,000 tons, down 24%; and beams with 6,000 tons, unchanged when compared with the same period of last year.
Jump in Consumption
Iran's apparent steel usage—defined as production plus imports minus exports, sometimes also adjusted for changes in inventories—during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 20-Sept. 21) stood at 11.82 million tons for semi-finished products, registering a 19% increase compared with last year's corresponding period.
Apparent usage stood at 10.43 million tons for finished products, posting a 22% increase year-on-year, according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association.
Flat steel products accounted for the largest portion of finished steel consumption with 4.73 million tons, up 15% YOY.
Among flat steel products, hot-rolled coil had the biggest share of apparent usage with 4.58 million tons (up 10% YOY), followed by cold-rolled coil with 1.44 million tons (up 12% YOY) and coated coil with 845,000 tons (up 6% YOY).
Long steel products accounted for 4.83 million tons of finished steel apparent usage, up 36% YOY.
Rebar grabbed the biggest share in this section with 3.91 million, up 41% YOY, followed by beams with 564,000 tons (up 25% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 352,000 tons (up 7% YOY).
As for semis, the apparent usage of billet and bloom together amounted to 6.65 million tons, up 20% YOY. Usage of slab also increased by 19% to 5.17 million tons during the first half of the year.
DRI usage was up 13% to 15.38 million tons.
9% Rise in Production
Iranian steelmakers produced a total of 25.39 million tons of semi-finished and finished steel products during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 20-Sept. 21) to register a 9.16% year-on-year increase.
According to ISPA, semis accounted for 14.39 million tons of the total output, up 10% YOY.
Billet and bloom made up 8.67 million tons of semi-finished production while slab output hit 5.7 million tons to register a 13% and 6% YOY rise respectively.
The output of finished steel increased by 8% YOY to 11 million tons.
Long steel products had a 5.56 million-ton share in the output of finished steel products, posting a 13% growth YOY.
Rebar production stood at 4.54 million tons (up 15% YOY). It was followed by beams with 626,000 tons (up 17% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 393,000 tons (down 4% YOY).
Production of flat steel picked up during the six-month period, increasing 3% year-on-year to 5.43 million tons.
Hot-rolled coil made up 4.5 million tons of the production in this category, showing a 4% rise compared with the similar period of last year, followed by cold-rolled coil with 1.36 million tons to register a 5% YOY rise and coated coil with 766,000 tons (down 6%).
According to IMIDRO, Mobarakeh Steel Company cemented its position as the top steel producer in Iran in H1.
Mobarakeh produced more than 4.19 million tons of semi-finished steel products during the first six months of the current Iranian year.
The mill's semi-finished output was 5% higher than the first half of the previous fiscal year.
The company’s output during the sixth month of the current fiscal year (Aug. 22- Sept. 21) increased by 5% to reach 701,966 tons.
MSC and its subsidiary Saba Steel Company also had the largest share of finished steel production with 4.19 million tons during the period under review (down 3% YOY).
Located in southwestern Isfahan, Mobarakeh Steel Company is the biggest steel producer in Iran and the Middle East and North Africa region.
In terms of semis production, MSC was followed by Khouzestan Steel Company with 1.976 million tons of output in H1. The number indicates a growth of 4% compared with the same period of last year.
KSC’s semi-finished output increased by 10% in the sixth month of the year to 321,380 tons.
Esfahan Steel Company came next with 1.170 million tons of bloom output during the first half of the fiscal year, marking a decline of 3% year-on-year.
South Kaveh Steel Company with 559,590 tons (down 5% YOY), Khorasan Steel Company with 491,051 tons (down 13% YOY) and Chadormalu Steel Company with 479,142 tons (down 3% YOY) followed.
The former ranked third in terms of monthly semis production during the month to Sept. 21. The company’s output stood at 125,851 tons during the one-month period, up 27%. ESCO’s monthly production decreased by 2% to 210,815 tons.
In terms of the production of finished products, MSC was followed by ESCO with 1.136 tons (almost unchanged compared to the year before), Oxin Steel Company with 457,836 tons (up 9% YOY) and Khorasan Steel Company with 260,508 tons (up 9% YOY).
Other key producers of finished products were Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Automotive Sheet Company, Ahvaz Rolling and Pipe Manufacturing Company, and INSIG.
