Poland reduced steel production by 13.1% y/y in 2023

In 2023, Polish steelmakers reduced steel production by 13.1% compared to 2022, to 6.44 million tons. The country was thus ranked 22nd in the WorldSteel Association’s global steel producer rankings.

In December, steel production in Poland increased by 18.8% compared to December 2022, but decreased by 7.9% compared to November to 480 thousand tons, the lowest since July 2023.

The average monthly steel production in Poland last year amounted to 536.42 thousand tons, while in 2022 the figure was 617.25 thousand tons (-13.09% y/y).

There are 10 steel plants in Poland, including two blast furnaces in Krakow (annual capacity of 2.6 million tons of finished products) and Dąbrowa Górnicza (5 million tons), and 8 electric arc furnaces in Chorzów (145 thousand tons). t), Częstochowa (800 thousand tons), Gliwice (250 thousand tons), Katowice (65 thousand tons), Ostrowiec (900 thousand tons), Stalowa Wola (240 thousand tons), Warsaw (750 thousand tons), and Zawiercie (1.34 million tons).

In 2022, Poland reduced steel production by 8.6% compared to 2021, to 7.73 million tons. Thus, the country was ranked 22nd in the global steel producer ranking by WorldSteel.

Overall, steel production in the European Union increased by 2.7% in December 2023 compared to December 2022, to 9.1 million tons. In 2023, the EU produced 126.3 million tons of steel, down 7.4% y/y.

Low steel production last year was due to the weak market conditions that have been observed since the fall of 2022. The European steel industry is facing high production costs at a time when demand for domestic steel products is weak amid a flood of cheaper imported products. In the autumn and winter, many companies limit their capacity to balance supply and demand and stabilize product prices.

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 production fell by 4.3% y/y last year – to 1.831 billion tons.