[SMM blast furnace operating rate] More blast furnaces under maintenance, slight decline in pig iron production

According to the SMM survey, as of July 2, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 87.54%, down 0.42 percentage points MoM. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces was 89.3%, down 0.15 percentage points MoM. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4137 million mt, down 4,200 mt MoM.

During this period, 5 blast furnaces underwent maintenance, while 1 resumed production. The blast furnaces undergoing maintenance were mainly concentrated in Hebei, Shanxi, and Fujian regions, while the blast furnaces that resumed production were mainly concentrated in Liaoning. Overall, to comply with production control policies, individual steel mills began maintenance on their blast furnaces, and some steel mills conducted annual maintenance as planned, resulting in a slight decline in overall pig iron production. Looking ahead to the next period, it is expected that 2 blast furnaces will undergo maintenance and 1 will resume production. The blast furnaces undergoing maintenance will be mainly concentrated in Hebei region. With the recent intensification of environmental protection inspections in the Tangshan area, there may be additional blast furnaces undergoing maintenance in the future, and overall pig iron production may fall below current tracking expectations.