[SMM Steel] Las ofertas de exportación de HRC de India siguen siendo limitadas ante la firmeza de los precios internos

Salzgitter and its partners at Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann (HKM) have permanently decommissioned blast furnace A in Duisburg, removing the unit from the production chain. The JV, held by Salzgitter, thyssenkrupp Steel and Vallourec, supplies slab for seamless pipe and flat products. With no restart option retained, the partners avoid future carbon costs and free capital and site space for electric arc furnace and direct reduced iron capacity. The move aligns with Salzgitter's SALCOS low-carbon programme, which targets a roughly 95% cut in CO2 emissions at its flagship works by 2033. For the market, it means a further structural contraction of German blast furnace crude steel supply, as ETS costs and high power prices accelerate the retirement of ironmaking assets.

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) forecasts global crude steel production will reach 2.2-2.4 billion tonnes by 2050, according to Yieh Corp. This implies continued growth from the current level of about 1.9 billion tonnes, driven by infrastructure development, energy transition investment and urbanisation in emerging economies. The wide range reflects uncertainty over decarbonisation pathways and steel demand intensity. The forecast highlights the tension between rising output and the industry's net-zero ambitions, requiring significant investment in low-emission technologies such as hydrogen-based direct reduced iron and electric arc furnaces.

Alaska has announced a steel plant project carrying a 15 billion USD investment tag, drawing a reaction from the local steel industry. An outlay of this scale ranks among the largest single greenfield steel investments globally and typically implies an integrated mill or a large short-process facility, needing port, power and gas infrastructure, a long build time and a slow ramp-up. If built, it would reshape regional supply-demand balances in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest and could lift demand for scrap and direct-reduced iron. Incumbents and downstream users are watching the impact on pricing and competition. Capacity, product mix, investors and start date remain undisclosed, leaving approvals and financing as key variables. Source: Alaska's News Source.