[SMM Survey] Steel Mill Losses & Environmental Protection-Driven Production Restrictions: July Hot Metal Production Inflection Point Turns Downward

Published: Jul 2, 2026 14:14

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According to SMM's tracking survey data, the daily average pig iron production in June increased by 20,000 mt from May. The average daily hot metal production in July is expected to decline by around 12,000 mt MoM from June.

According to SMM's tracking survey data, in June, a total of 10 blast furnaces underwent newly added maintenance across steel mills nationwide, reducing daily hot metal production by approximately 25,300 mt . The maintenance was mainly concentrated in north China. Meanwhile, 7 blast furnaces resumed production, increasing daily hot metal output by around 42,700 mt . Production resumptions were also primarily in north China, mainly from blast furnaces that restarted after prior maintenance. SMM survey data showed that in June, blast furnace maintenance resulted in a net reduction of 5.1581 million mt in hot metal production, down 810,000 mt MoM from May. Based on SMM's daily average hot metal production data, the daily average pig iron production in June grew by 20,000 mt compared with May.

Data source: SMM

According to SMM's latest survey, in July, steel mills nationwide plan to conduct newly added maintenance on 13 blast furnaces , mainly in east China, reducing daily hot metal output by about 55,700 mt; meanwhile, 12 blast furnaces will resume production , increasing daily hot metal output by around 53,200 mt; based on comprehensive calculations, blast furnace maintenance in July is expected to lead to a net reduction of 5.69 million mt in hot metal production, with the average daily hot metal output down approximately 12,000 mt MoM from June.

In addition, considering the off-season for end-use demand and widening losses among steel mills, along with planned environmental protection-driven production restrictions in Tangshan in July, the maintenance plan for blast furnaces is expected to exceed current statistics, and the decline in daily average hot metal production may be larger than existing data suggest.

Data source: SMM

Stay tuned to SMM's 242-sample blast furnace operating rate and daily average hot metal production figures, released every Wednesday:

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

Images in this article contain AI-translated captions for reference only.

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