Steel Mills' Profit Margins to Fluctuate at a Low Level in March amid the Simultaneous Rise in Prices of Raw Materials and Steel

SNT Energy announced on 2 September that it had signed a contract with Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd. to supply heat recovery steam generators for the Hadong LNG combined-cycle power plant. The contract is valued at approximately KRW 128.2 billion and runs from September 2026 to December 2029. SNT Energy will form a consortium with Doosan Enerbility and will be responsible for supplying the heat recovery steam generators, a core component of the combined-cycle plant. The project is intended to replace the aging Hadong coal-fired Units 2 and 3 with a new high-efficiency LNG combined-cycle power plant, but their formal retirement date, the commissioning date of the new gas-fired plant, current coal consumption, or the volume of coal demand expected to be displaced is not being disclosed yet.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported coal production of 10.953 million short tons for the week ending August 29, 2026, up approximately 3.4% from 10.595 million short tons in the previous week and 2.5% from 10.686 million short tons in the corresponding week of 2025. Year-to-date U.S. coal production reached 341.383 million short tons, remaining 2.4% below the 349.951 million short tons produced during the same period of 2025. Western production totaled 6.072 million short tons during the week, accounting for approximately 55.4% of national output. Appalachian and Interior production stood at 3.274 million and 1.607 million short tons, respectively. Wyoming was the largest individual state producer listed in the article, with weekly output of 4.624 million short tons.

JFE Steel ввела в эксплуатацию новую коксовую батарею № 6 на территории Фукуяма своего металлургического завода West Japan Works 31 августа 2026 года. Проект реализовывался с мая 2023 года по август 2026 года, объём инвестиций составил около 45 млрд иен, а годовая производственная мощность — порядка 420 тыс. тонн кокса. Это первая в Японии крупная коксовая батарея, использующая метод трамбования угольной шихты. В отличие от традиционной верхней загрузки, в этом процессе угольный порошок уплотняется перед горизонтальной подачей в печь. Согласно представленной статье, новая конструкция повышает эффективность производства и снижает эксплуатационные расходы за счёт улучшения качества кокса.