At 4:15 PM on June 8, 2026, a ladle explosion at the SMS-1 steelmaking shop of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) — operated by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) — unleashed molten metal at over 1,500°C onto the working platform below Caster-2. According to a preliminary report by India's Chief Inspector of Factories, the cause was a sudden release of gas entrapped within the liquid steel, which ruptured the ladle seal before the sliding gate was opened, triggering a catastrophic spill.

【SMM Steel】JSW Steel's May consolidated crude steel output rose 15% y-o-y to 2.29 million tonnes driven by full operations at its Dolvi facility which had planned maintenance last year and the complete ramp-up at JVML. Domestic output rose to 2.19 million tonnes from 1.9 million tonnes while its US Ohio plant output climbed 20% to 95000 tonnes. Excluding the ongoing shutdown of BF3 at Vijayanagar for expansion domestic capacity utilization reached approximately 98%. JSW Steel had reported April crude steel output of 2.12 million tonnes down 1% y-o-y.

According to CISA data released June 4, member mills averaged 2.01 million tonnes/day of crude steel in late May, down 4.6% (80,000 t/d) from mid-May and 4.1% year-on-year. Including non-members, national daily output averaged 2.69 million t/d, down 4.3%. North China led the decline at -8.3% (57,000 t/d). Finished steel output edged up 3.2% to 2.07 million t/d. Despite this, inventories fell: member mill stocks dropped 15.7% to 15.83 million tonnes by May 31, while stocks in 21 tracked cities dipped to 10.22 million tonnes.

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) reported that global recycled steel consumption grew by 4.5% year-on-year to 480 million metric tons (mt) in 2025 across key markets, even as global crude steel output fell by 1.9% to approximately 1.85 billion mt. Global direct reduced iron (DRI) production also climbed 4.9% to 153 million mt, largely driven by India's 7.4% output increase to 58.9 million mt. In terms of trade flows, the EU-27 and the US remained the largest scrap exporters at 16.68 million mt and 11.76 million mt, respectively, while Turkey retained its position as the top importer with 18.76 million mt despite a 6.6% volume decline. Pakistan posted exceptionally strong import growth, surging 39.8% to 3.02 million mt. This decoupling of scrap consumption from total crude steel production underscores the accelerating global shift toward lower-carbon electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking. The sustained demand for scrap and DRI signals structurally tighter future raw material supplies, which will continually reshape global trade dynamics as countries secure resources for decarbonization.

【SMM Steel】Japan's steel exports fell 6.7% y-o-y to 2.28 million tonnes in April, marking the sixth consecutive monthly decline, mainly due to lower shipments to South Korea and Taiwan. Total exports in Jan-Apr 2026 reached 9.27 million tonnes, down 9.3% y-o-y. METI forecast crude steel output for April-June to decline 1% y-o-y to 60.9 million tonnes, citing weak demand from China and SE Asia and trade measures against Japan. Risks include Middle East oil supply disruptions, falling regional demand, and China rerouting exports to the Middle East.

Tata Steel’s latest performance shows a company moving from a traditional volume-based steel business toward a more margin-focused and transformation-driven model. It is driving growth and profitability, financial performance is recovering through better margins and cost control, while the company’s key business activities are increasingly focused on downstream expansion, raw material security and low-carbon steelmaking.