Poland reduced steel production by 9.4% m/m in February

In February 2022, the steel enterprises of Poland reduced steel production by 9.4% compared to the previous month – to 435 thousand tons. This is evidenced by WorldSteel Association’s data.

On an annual basis, steel production in Poland decreased by 34.4% as of February 2023.

In January-February 2023, Polish steelmakers smelted 915,000 tons of steel. This is 34.5% 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 February 2023 fell by 12.6% compared to February last year – to 10.5 million tons. In  January-February 2023, 20.7 million tons of steel were produced in the EU, which is 14.3% 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 – the beginning of 2023, EU steelmakers began to restart the stopped capacities, as the apparent 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.

In January 2023, ArcelorMittal Poland launched blast furnace №3 at the plant in Dombrova-Gurnych. 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.