Zaporizhstal increased the production of rolled products by 5.6% m/m in December

In December 2023, Zaporizhstal Iron and Steel Works increased its rolled steel production by 5.6% compared to the previous month – up to 206.5 thousand tons. This is stated in the press release of the enterprise.

Pig iron production in December increased by 1% compared to November – up to 265.5 thousand tons. Steel output for the month fell by 5.1% m/m – to 228.6 thousand tons.

In December 2023, Zaporizhstal increased its pig iron production by 87.1% compared to December last year. Steel production increased by 3.2 times year-on-year, and rolled products output by 3.6 times.

In January-December 2023, Zaporizhstal’s output increased by 50.6% year-on-year – up to 7.24 million tons. In particular, the plant produced:

• pig iron – 2.72 million tons (+35.3% y/y);
• steel – 2.47 million tons (+65.4%);
• rolled goods – 2.05 million tons (+57.2%).

Hostile shelling and destruction, interruptions in the supply of raw materials and energy, and disruption of logistics routes due to the blockade of seaports led to a decline in Zaporizhstal’s production performance compared to pre-war levels. In particular, in 2021, the plant produced 4.5 million tons of pig iron, 3.8 million tons of steel and 3.2 million tons of rolled products.

Compared to 2022, the company increased its output of steel products by increasing utilization, finding new logistics routes for raw materials and sales, and expanding its product portfolio. In 2023, the plant operated at an average of 70% of its capacity.

«The anti-crisis solutions we found allowed us to stabilize the production process and reorient the company to operate more efficiently in the rapidly changing wartime environment, maintain production and retain our team. In 2024, we plan to maintain production volumes and, given the favorable conditions on foreign markets and demand for rolled steel in the domestic market, increase the utilization of our production facilities,» the general director of Zaporizhstal Roman Slobodyanuk noted.

In March 2023, Zaporizhstal took out the blast furnace №2 from forced hot preservation. At the end of May 2023, the combine reported on shutdown of blast furnace №3 for overhaul Class II. Investments in the restoration of the unit were planned at the level of UAH 200 million. On June 19 the plant announced on the completion of blast furnace repairs and the start of unit inflation.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 Zaporizhstal reduced pig iron output by 54.3% compared to 2021 – to 2.01 million tons. Steel production decreased by 61.7% – to 1.49 million tons, and the production of rolled products – by 60.4%, to 1.304 million tons.