[SMM Blast Furnace Operating Rate] Environmental Protection-Driven Production Restrictions in Some Regions Cause a Slight Decline in Pig Iron Production

According to the SMM survey, as of March 5, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM stood at 86.33%, down 0.11 percentage points WoW. The capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces was 87.61%, down 0.21 percentage points WoW. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.364 million mt, down 5,500 mt WoW. During this period, a total of nine blast furnaces underwent maintenance, while 12 blast furnaces resumed production. The blast furnaces under maintenance were mainly located in Hebei and Xinjiang, while those resuming production were concentrated in Xinjiang, Hebei, and Guangxi. Due to the impact of an important meeting, regions near Beijing received short-term environmental protection-driven production restriction notices, leading to temporary shutdowns of some steel mills' blast furnaces. As a result, overall pig iron production showed a slight decline. Looking ahead to the next period, according to SMM statistics, one blast furnace is scheduled for maintenance, while four blast furnaces are expected to resume production, with resumption activities mainly concentrated in Hebei. Considering the weakening impact of environmental restrictions and the planned resumption of previously maintained blast furnaces, pig iron production is expected to see a slight increase.