ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih increased steel production by 23% m/m in January

In January 2024, PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, a subsidiary of the global steelmaker ArcelorMittal, increased steel production by 23% year-on-year – to 76 thousand tons. The company’s press service told GMK Center.

Last month production of steel finished products increased by 26% compared to December 2023, to 72 thousand tons. In January last year, the company did not produce crude steel and finished steel products due to limited electricity supply.

Iron ore concentrate production in January 2024 amounted to 552 thousand tons, up 41% month-on-month and 66% compared to January 2023. Coke production increased by 9% m/m and 77% y/y – to 85 thousand tons. Pig iron production amounted to 149 thousand tons. This is 10% more than in the previous month and 2 times more than in the previous year.

«The increase in iron ore concentrate production was driven by both an increase in export orders and domestic consumption. The increased productivity of the blast furnace process also resulted in an increase in pig iron production, which allowed us to increase production of crude steel and merchant steel products,» the company said.

In general, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih demonstrates steady growth in production of all types of products, despite the difficult conditions in which the plant operates. Kryvyi Rih is close to the frontline, so the city is periodically shelled by Russian troops. In particular, in early February, Kryvyi Rih experienced power outages due to damage to the energy infrastructure.

According to Mauro Longobardo, CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, the plant intends to increase capacity utilization in 2024.

«In 2024, we plan to increase production by operating two blast furnaces. Thus, our production capacity utilization will increase from 30 to 50 percent,» said M. Longobardo in November 2023, receiving a delegation from the German Embassy at the plant.

Last year was a challenging one for ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, which produced 1 million tons of crude steel, 1.5 million tons of pig iron and 0.9 million tons of merchant steel finished products. However, the most important thing is that the company continues to operate, contributing to the Ukrainian economy during the war, and maintains its production facilities in order to increase production as soon as possible when the situation improves.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is an integrated steelmaking enterprise in Ukraine. Its production facilities are designed to produce over 6 million tons of crude steel, 5 million tons of steel finished products and 5.5 million tons of pig iron annually. The company employs over 20 thousand people.