【SMM Blast Furnace Operating Rate】Blast Furnace Resumes Operation as Planned, Pig Iron Production Continues to Rise

According to the SMM survey, as of April 9, the operating rate of blast furnaces in 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 87.58%, up 0.09 percentage points MoM. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces was 89.67%, up 0.27 percentage points MoM. The daily average pig iron production of the sample steel mills was 2.4204 million mt, up 7,300 mt MoM.

During this period, 2 blast furnaces underwent maintenance, while 5 blast furnaces resumed production. The maintenance blast furnaces were mainly concentrated in Hebei and Hubei, while the resumed blast furnaces were primarily located in Hebei and Shaanxi. According to SMM's current tracking, the long-process rebar profit of steel mills is currently around 100, and the willingness of steel mills to halt production for maintenance is weak. Most blast furnaces of steel mills that previously halted production for maintenance resumed production as planned, and the overall pig iron production showed an upward trend.
Looking ahead to next week, 2 blast furnaces are expected to undergo maintenance, while 5 blast furnaces are expected to resume production. The maintenance blast furnaces will be concentrated in north-east China, while the resumed blast furnaces will mainly be located in Shanxi and Liaoning. However, the overall daily average pig iron increment is expected to decline significantly. Additionally, some steel mills recently indicated that they may implement temporary maintenance, and the pig iron production is expected to fall short of expectations.