Austria increased steel output by 17.4% m/m in September

In September 2023, Austrian steel enterprises increased steel production by 17.4% compared to the previous month – up to 514 thousand tons. This is evidenced by WorldSteel Association’s data.

In comparison with September 2022, in September 2023, Austrian steelmakers reduced steel production by 8.7%.

In January-September, Austria produced 5.39 million tons of steel, which is 6.9% less than in the same period of 2022.

The average monthly production of steel in Austria in January-September amounted to 599 thousand tons, while for the same period of 2022 the indicator was at the level of 643.3 thousand tons (-6.89% y/y).

The slight increase in steel production compared to August is likely due to seasonal factors and improved demand for steel after the summer holidays. At the same time, the indicator is still lower compared to the same period in 2022 amid high production costs and filling of the EU market with cheap imported products.

There are 5 steel plants in Austria, in particular, two blast furnace type (BF & BOF) in Donawitz (annual capacity – 1.37 million tons of steel) and Linz (4.34 million tons/year), and three electric arc (EAF) – Graz (365,000 t/year), Kapfenberg (180,000 t/year), Metterdorf (300,000 t/year).

In 2022, Austrian steelmakers reduced steel production by 4.7% compared to 2021 – to 7.51 million tons. In December 2022, 560,000 tons of steel were produced, which is 13.8% less y/y and by 0.5% more m/m.

In general, steel production in the countries of the European Union in September 2023 fell by 1.1% compared to September last year – to 10.6 million tons. In January-September 2023, 96.2 million tons of steel were produced in the EU, which is 9.1% less y/y.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 European steelmakers reduced steel production by 10.5% compared to 2021 – to 136.7 million tons. In general, global steel output last year fell by 4.3% y/y – to 1.831 billion tons.