[SMM Blast Furnace Operating Rate] Pig Iron Production Remains High, Likely to Decline in Later Periods

According to the SMM survey, as of May 7, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 88.96%, up 0.07 percentage point WoW. The capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces was 91.10%, up 0.16 percentage point WoW. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4579 million mt, up 4,400 mt WoW.

During this period, one blast furnace underwent maintenance, with no blast furnaces resuming production. The blast furnaces under maintenance were mainly concentrated in the Inner Mongolia region. According to SMM's current tracking, most of the blast furnaces that underwent maintenance earlier have resumed production. Pig iron production has now peaked, and with an expected increase in maintenance at steel mills in the later period, pig iron production may start to decline. Specifically, two blast furnaces are scheduled to undergo maintenance next week, mainly concentrated in the Hubei and Jiangsu regions. There are currently no blast furnaces expected to resume production, and pig iron production may decline further.