According to the SMM survey, as of July 9, the operating rate of blast furnaces at 242 steel mills surveyed by SMM was 87.28%, down 0.26 percentage points MoM. The capacity utilization rate of blast furnaces was 89.23%, down 0.07 percentage points MoM. The daily average pig iron production of the sampled steel mills was 2.4118 million mt, down 1,900 mt MoM.
During this period, 2 blast furnaces were under maintenance and 2 resumed production. The blast furnaces under maintenance were mainly concentrated in Hebei and Guizhou regions, while those that resumed production were mainly concentrated in Shandong and Hebei regions. Overall, the willingness of steel mills to conduct blast furnace maintenance is currently weak, with most maintaining normal production as planned. The overall pig iron production remains at a relatively high level. Looking ahead to next week, it is expected that 1 blast furnace will undergo maintenance and 1 will resume production. The blast furnaces under maintenance will be mainly concentrated in Liaoning region, while those that resume production will be concentrated in Henan region. Recently, Hebei region has been facing significant environmental protection pressure, and there may be additional blast furnaces under maintenance in the future, with overall pig iron production potentially falling short of expectations.
