SHANGHAI, Apr 10 (SMM) – Scheduled output of rebar in April across 33 major producers of long steel in China is expected to increase 0.99% from the actual output in March and stand at 7.71 million mt, an SMM survey showed.

Surveyed steelmakers in the north planned to produce 1.45 million mt of rebar this month, up 6.87% from the actual production in March, and this accounted for most of the increase in scheduled output. 

Tangshan Iron & Steel in China's top steelmaking province of Hebei returned to normal operation at the start of April when local air quality met standards and as the heating season restrictions ended. 

In anticipation of higher demand from construction, a major steel mill in Shijiazhuang of Hebei raised its planned output by 17.65% from its actual production in March, to 800,000 mt. 

However, environmental checks continued to suspend a 2,000 m³ blast furnace at Handan Iron & Steel in Hebei. This drove the plant to lower its scheduled output for April by 48.28% from the realised output in March, to 30,000 mt. The suspension had not been lifted as of the time of SMM’s survey. It will require two weeks for the furnace to ramp up to full capacity even if it restarts in early April, SMM learned. 

Separately, the scheduled output of wire rods at surveyed mills in China is likely to grow 1% from realised output in March, to 2.61 million mt in April. 

Rebar output for domestic sales is planned at 7.46 million mt in April, up 1.6% month on month, while exports are likely to decrease by 14.2% to 242,000 mt.