[SMM Blast Furnace Operating Rate] As Blast Furnace Maintenance Slowed, Pig Iron Production Rose Slightly

According to an SMM survey, as of January 15, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM stood at 85.14%, down 0.19 percentage points WoW. The capacity utilisation rate of blast furnaces was 86.98%, up 0.1 percentage points WoW. The daily pig iron production of the sample steel mills averaged 2.3488 million mt, up 2,800 mt WoW.

This week, five blast furnaces underwent maintenance, while six resumed production. Maintenance activities were mainly concentrated in Shanxi and Hebei, whereas most of the blast furnaces resuming production were located in Hebei, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi. Due to the previous concentration of maintenance activities and the recent alleviation of steel mill profit pressure, the pace of blast furnace maintenance has significantly slowed. Meanwhile, the resumption of production at some blast furnaces has slightly increased pig iron production. According to the latest SMM data, one blast furnace is expected to undergo maintenance next week, while three are expected to resume production, with the restarting blast furnaces mainly located in Shanxi and Hunan. Pig iron production is expected to continue to grow.