Poland increased steel production by 2.1 times m/m in March

In March 2023, the steel enterprises of Poland increased steel production by 2.1 times compared to the previous month – up to 905 thousand tons. This is evidenced by WorldSteel Association’s data.

Annually, steel production in Poland increased by 28.9% as of March 2023.

In January-March 2023, Polish steelmakers smelted 1.82 million tons of steel. This is 13.3% less compared to the same period in 2022.

In 2022, Poland reduced steel production by 8.6% compared to 2021 – to 7.73 million tons. Thus, the country took 22nd place in the global ranking of WorldSteel steel producers.

In general, steel production in the countries of the European Union in March 2023 fell by 5.6% compared to March last year – to 11.9 million tons. In January-March 2023, 33.1 million tons of steel were produced in the EU, which is 10.1% less y/y.

During the second half of 2022, European steelmakers massively reduced production capacity amid rising electricity tariffs and unfavorable market conditions. At the same time, the European market was filled with imported steel products, which attracted consumers at lower prices than local ones. According to Fastmarkets estimates, at the end of 2022, about 14-15 million tons of annual steel capacities were stopped in Europe.

Already at the end of 2022 – beginning of 2023, EU steelmakers began to restart the stopped capacities, as the visible demand for steel and product prices began to grow, and the costs of energy resources – decreased and stabilized. In addition, the industry predicts further growth in demand for steel products.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January 2023, ArcelorMittal Poland launched blast furnace №3 at the plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza. It has been idle since September 2022. The reasons were a slowdown in economic activity in Europe, a decrease in demand on the EU market and an increase in imports from outside the European Union, as well as an increase in energy prices.

At the same time, the company previously announced that at the end of March it will shut down blast furnace №2 at the plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza for maintenance. More than 720 million zlotys ($167 million) will be allocated to the capital modernization of the unit, which will last three months.