【Capacity Utilization Rate】Mid-August Independent EAF Steel 

Capacity Utilization Statistics 

The average capacity utilization rate of 87 independent EAF steel plants nationwide is 74.12% in mid-August, with a MoM increase of 1.86 percentage points and a YoY increase of 16.78 percentage points.

Among them, the Eastern China region saw a slight decrease, while the Southern China region saw a slight increase. The Central China and Southwest China regions experienced significant increases, while the rest of the regions remained stable. The average capacity utilization rate of these 87 independent EAF steel plants across the country is 52.58%, with a MoM increase of 1.76 percentage points and a YoY increase of 7.77 percentage points.

In detail, the Northern China region experienced a marginal decrease, the Northwestern and Northeastern regions saw slight decreases, the Eastern China region witnessed a marginal increase, the Southern China region observed a slight increase, and the Central China and Southwest China regions showed noticeable increases. The other regions remained stable.

Looking at the data for this week, the capacity utilization rate and capacity utilization efficiency of independent EAFs in the country have both seen marginal increases. The slight increase in the capacity utilization rate of independent EAFs this week is mainly attributed to the following reasons: a furnace plant in the Guangxi region of Southern China resumed production on the 30th, a furnace plant in the Guizhou region of Southwest China resumed production on the 1st, a furnace plant in the Sichuan region of Southwest China resumed production on the 2nd, a steel plant in the Hubei region of Central China resumed production on the 3rd, and a steel plant in Jiangsu of Eastern China resumed production on the 8th due to profitable opportunities, while a furnace plant in the Fujian region extended its maintenance time. Some steel plants, having experienced longer periods of shutdown, are gradually increasing production efficiency and expanding production time after returning to normal production, but they are still operating in staggered production mode. Currently, the delivery and inventory of scrap steel at steel plants have slightly increased, indicating a noticeable improvement in supply compared to the previous period.

Looking at the situation for next week, with the conclusion of the National Games, it is anticipated that the shutdown steel plants in the Sichuan region of Southwest China will resume production within the week. Taking everything into consideration, it is expected that the capacity utilization rate and capacity utilization efficiency of independent EAF plants will continue to experience marginal increases next week.

 Data Source: Oilchem