Steel Output, Usage Rise as Imports Fall

Steel usage in Iran during the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21-July 22) stood at 11.61 million tons, up 8.62% year-on-year.

The Iranian Steel Producers Association’s latest report published on its website also showed that apparent finished steel usage has grown steadily throughout the four months.

Downstream industries’ usage of finished steel products was up 14% YOY to 6.68 million tons. Hot-rolled coil was the most sought-after material as its usage stood at 2.66 million tons, up 13% YOY; followed by rebar with 1.88 million tons, down 5% YOY; cold-rolled coil with 1 million tons, up 47% YOY; coated coil with 628,000 tons, up 49% YOY; and beams with 209,000 tons, down 26%.

Demand for beam and rebar is still falling in Iran, as the construction sector remains comatose. However, their exports are booming.

Semi-finished steel usage grew at a slower pace to 4.93 million tons, up 3% YOY. Billet and bloom consumption stood at 2.83 million tons, up 23% YOY. Slab usage dropped 16% to 2.09 million tons.

In the meantime, Iranian steelmakers produced 13.4 million tons of semis and finished steel, up 13.6% compared with last year’s corresponding period.

Finished products, including beam, rebar, HRC, CRC and coated coils had a 6.33-million-ton share of the total output, registering a 10% YOY growth in their production. HRC had the lion’s share of output with 2.37 million tons, registering less than 1% growth. It was followed by rebar with 2.07 million tons, up 1%; CRC with 819,000 tons, up 37%; coated coil with 523,000 tons, up 59%; beam with 259,000 tons, down 21%; and "other steel products" with 285,000 tons, up 148%.

Semi-finished steel output stood at 7.06 million tons, up 17% YOY. Billet and bloom output was up 19% to 3.77 million tons, and slab production increased by 15% to reach 3.29 million tons.

Supplying semis and finished steel to local market has been on the agenda of Iranian steelmakers since the start of the Iranian year (March 21).

The export of finished products was down 52% during the four months to 414,000 tons. Rebar and coated coil were the only commodities posting growth in overseas shipments, up 146% to 217,000 tons and 75% to 21,000 tons respectively. HRC and CRC exports dropped 86% and 94% to 87,000 and 5,000 tons respectively.

Over 2.13 million tons of semis were exported during the period, up 67% YOY. Slab exports recorded a 228% upsurge to 1.19 million tons, and billet and bloom shipments rose 2% to 939,000 tons.

Imports were down across the whole spectrum of steel products, save for a few. Semis and finished steel imports were down 89% and 24% to stand at 6,000 and 761,000 tons respectively. Beam, CRC and coated coil were the only products whose imports recorded growth.