SMM electric arc furnace operating rate: profits of steel mills failed to improve

Tata Steel's CEO told the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM) Symposium 2026 in Delhi that India's domestic steel demand should grow 8-10% this year, as all consuming sectors remain strong, and said the company is positive on the industry outlook. On the proposed Netherlands project, he said Tata Steel is in active talks with the Dutch government to resolve outstanding issues before any binding agreement can be signed, including the closure of coke ovens and the classification and handling of steel slag. Tata Steel's IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands has installed capacity of about 7 million tonnes per year; the company has launched a transformation programme to install lower-carbon steelmaking processes, lift production efficiency, cut fixed costs and optimise product mix and margins.

UK steel faces an unavoidable EAF transition. On Western European cost benchmarks, scrap-based EAF already beats blast furnace steelmaking — cheaper and faster to build, set to gain from grid decarbonisation — and the old grade-capability gap has narrowed sharply. Largely exported UK scrap is a feedstock the shift would retain. Consumption is set to rise 54% by 2050 on construction, offshore wind, transmission and automotive demand, but projected domestic output falls 7.3 Mt short: about 118 billion USD (93 billion GBP) of opportunity to 2050 that imports would fill without new capacity. Closing it would need over two Port Talbots' worth of new EAF capacity. UK mill power costs in 2025/26 ran 7.7 USD/tonne (6.10 GBP/tonne) above German rivals and 10.0 USD/tonne (7.90 GBP/tonne) above French peers.

Japan has announced additions to its export ban list against Russia, with steel products included among the newly listed categories. The move further tightens Tokyo's existing sanctions framework, formally closing export channels for the affected steel grades and steel products. Japanese exporters will need to redirect those volumes towards alternative markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East. As Japan's steel shipments to Russia are limited in volume, the direct trade impact is manageable, but the signal is stronger: G7 controls on industrial goods including steel continue to tighten, and downstream finished products and metallurgical equipment may be covered next. The full commodity code list and the effective date have not yet been published, so the practical impact will depend on the final official ordinance.