The Iranian Steel Producers Association has reported growth in semi-finished and finished steel production in the country during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21).
Iranian steelmakers produced 9.47 million tons of semi-finished products during the period, 10.5% more than in the previous year’s corresponding period, ISPA said in a new report.
The production of billet and bloom stood at 5.97 million tons, registering an 18.1% year-on-year growth. Slab output stood at 3.5 million tons to register a 0.3% decline.
The output of finished steel increased by 5% to 5.95 million tons. Long steel products grabbed the highest share of finished steel output with 3.41 million tons, registering an 8.3% increase.
Rebar production stood at 2.77 million tons (up 7.1%), that of beams hit 397,000 tons (up 22.2%) and L-beam, T-beam and other types of beams amounted to 241,000 tons (up 2.6%).
Flat steel production reached 2.54 million tons (up 0.9%) while hot-rolled coil output had the biggest share of flat steel production with 2.46 million tons, marking a 0.6% decrease. It was followed by cold-rolled coil with 656,000 tons (up 6.5%) and coated coil with 451,000 tons (up 11.1%).
The output of direct reduced iron stood at 9.97 million tons during the period, up 2.8%.
DRI, also known as sponge iron, is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore in the form of lumps, pellets or fines by a reducing gas. It can be processed to create wrought iron.
Iran and India are the world’s biggest producers of DRI, also known as sponge iron.
According to ISPA, Iranian steelmakers produced a total of 30.43 million tons of semi-finished products in the fiscal 2022-23, 9% more than in the previous year.
Production of billet and bloom stood at 18.74 million tons, registering a 12% rise. Slab output stood at 11.69 million tons to mark a 4% rise.
The output of finished steel increased by 10% to 21.59 million tons.
Long steel products grabbed the highest share of finished steel output with 12.53 million tons, registering a 12% increase.
The production of rebar stood at 10.39 million tons (up 14%), beams hit 1.29 million tons (up 6%) and L-beam, T-beam and other types of beams amounted to 851,000 tons (up 2%).
Flat steel production reached 9.06 million tons (up 8%) while hot-rolled coil output had the biggest share of flat steel production with 8.73 million tons, marking a 5% rise. It was followed by cold-rolled coil with 2.41 million tons (down 7%) and coated coil with 1.49 tons (down 1%).
The output of direct-reduced iron stood at 31.73 million tons during the period, up 5%.
Mobarakeh Steel Company is the biggest steelmaker in Iran and the Middle East and North Africa region, accounting for about half of the country's steel production.
The state-owned company is located 65 km southwest of Isfahan, near the city of Mobarakeh in Isfahan Province. It is one of the largest industrial complexes operating in Iran.
MSC was commissioned after the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and initiated operations during 1993. It underwent major revamping during the 2000s. Its products consist of hot- and cold-rolled sheets and coils, narrow strip coil, tinplate sheet, galvanized coil, pre-painted coil and slab produced according to national and international standards.
These products meet the needs of various industries, such as automotive, home appliances, pipe making, pressure vessels, food, chemical and medical packing, construction, transportation and metal equipment.
Worldsteel Data on Crude Steel Output
Latest data released by the World Steel Association show a total of 13 million tons of crude steel were produced in Iran during the first five months of 2023, registering a 2.2% year-on-year rise.
Iran's May output hit 3.1 million tons, registering a 5.9% YOY rise — the biggest among the top 10 global producers.
Iran maintained its global standing as the world’s 10th biggest crude steelmaker in May.
China was the world’s largest producer during the five months under review with 444.6 million tons (1.6% rise). It was followed by India with 56.4 million tons (up 5.7%), Japan with 36.5 million tons (down 5.3%), the United States with 26.133.1 million tons (down 3.4%), Russia with 32.1 million tons (up 1.6%), South Korea with 28.1 million tons (down 0.4%), Germany with 15.6 million tons (down 4.7%) and Brazil with 13.4 million tons (down 8.1%).
Iran was placed after Turkey (ninth) with 13 million tons (down 19.1%).
The world’s 63 steelmakers produced 786 million tons of crude steel during the period, down 1.2%. Countries located in Asia and Oceania collectively produced 588.4 million tons of the total.
The Middle East produced 18.7 million tons of crude steel during the period, registering an increase of 1.1%.
Crude steel is defined as steel in its first solid (or usable) form: ingots and semi-finished products (billets, blooms and slabs). This is not to be confused with liquid steel, which is steel poured.
The World Steel Association is one of the largest and most dynamic industrial associations, with members in every major steel-producing country.
Worldsteel represents steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations and steel research institutes. Members represent around 85% of global steel production.
Iranian steel mills produced a total of 30.6 million tons of crude steel in 2022, registering an 8% rise compared with 2021.
