Belgium increased steel production by 4.1% m/m in September

In September 2023, Belgian steel enterprises increased steel production by 4.1% compared to the previous month – up to 480,000 tons. On an annual basis, steel production in the country decreased by 7.5%. This is evidenced by data from the WorldSteel Association.

In January-September 2023, steel production in Belgium amounted to 4.78 million tons, which is 9.3% less than in the same period of 2022.

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.

Average monthly steel production in Belgium in January-September totaled 531.7 thousand tons, while for the same period in 2022 the indicator was at the level of 586 thousand tons (-9.27% ​​y/y).

There are 5 steel plants in Belgium, in particular, one blast furnace type (BF & BOF) in Ghent (annual capacity – 4.34 million tons of steel), and four electric arc plants – two in Charleroi (850 thousand tons and 350 thousand tons), one in Chatelet (1 million tons) and Gents (1.2 million tons). These are the enterprises of Aperam and ArcelorMittal.

In 2022, Belgian steelmakers reduced steel production by 0.4% compared to 2021 – to 6.94 million tons. In December 2022, 667,000 tons of steel were produced, which is 13.8% more y/y and by 28.3% 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.