There were stricter environmental protection-related production restrictions in Tangshan, and the list of shut-down of BFs lengthened sharply.

There were stricter environmental protection-related production restrictions in Tangshan, and the list of shut-down of BFs lengthened sharply.

Poor air quality led to production restrictions in Tangshan starting June, and steel mills cut operating rate of sinter units by 30-50%. There were stricter restrictions in the past two days in Tangshan, taking down 7 BFs of steel mills as of the morning of July 21. In addition, 2 BFs were scheduled to be shut down. Therefore, a total of 9 BFs were shut down, leading to 30,300 mt of pig iron daily production losses. However, some of the steel mills stopped production of their own accord, and the shutdown time was relatively short, and those who were required to stop production, will resume operation until the end of the month. Except for the 9 BFs, there were 3 BFs undergoing downtime. On the whole, there were 12 BFs was shut down in Tangshan, leading to 43,500 mt of the daily production losses of pig iron.

Production reduction of sinter units by 30-50% lingered in Tangshan. Some steel mills said that the sinter supply was slightly tight, but normal production can still be maintained after adjustment. SMM will continue to track the subsequent implementation!