SHANGHAI, Oct 31 (SMM) – Steel mills in Handan, a major steel producing city in China's Hebei province, will face cutbacks of around 21.17 million mt in blast furnace capacity in November-December, according to SMM calculation from the latest release by the local government. 

This will account for some 41% of overall capacity across 18 major steel mills in the city. 

Cuts will be carried out in two sessions. The first session is from November 1 to December 31, and the second session is from January 1, 2019 to March 31. 

Steel mills face output curbs of various scales after the central government decided to scrap previous blanket reduction targets this year. Steelmakers were classified into categories A, B and C based on their emission ratings. This determined the amount of capacity mills cut in the winter.

Separately, steel mills in Tangshan city will face cutbacks of some 19.74 million mt in blast furnace capacity in the upcoming winter. This accounted for 33.8% of its overall capacity.