Belgium reduced steel production by 10.2% y/y in the first half of 2023

In January-June 2023, steel enterprises of Belgium reduced steel production by 10.2% compared to the same period in 2022 – to 3.24 million tons. This is evidenced by World Steel Association’s data.

In June, Belgian steelmakers reduced steel production by 6.6% compared to June 2022 – to 537 thousand tons. At the same time, compared to May 2023, the figure increased by 1.3%.

The average monthly steel production in Belgium in January-June amounted to 540.2 thousand tons, while for the same period in 2022 the figure was at the level of 601.5 thousand tons (-10.2% 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 – two in Charleroi (850 thousand tons and 350 thousand tons), one in Chatelet (1 Mt) and Genk (1.2 Mt). 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 thousand tons of steel were produced, which is 13.8% more y/y and by 28.3% m/m.

In general, steel production in the EU countries in June 2023 fell by 11.1% compared to June last year – to 10.6 million tons. In January-June 2023, 66.3 million tons of steel were produced in the EU, which is 10.9% 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. Overall, global steel output fell 4.3% y/y last year – to 1.831 billion tons.