JSW Steel Ltd, a major private steel manufacturer, for May ’21 (10 June ’21) steel maker maintained its capacity utilisation for the second consecutive month at 91% in May ’21, as per a company press release.
However, on an annualised basis, the capacity utilisation increased by 8% against 83% in May ’20.
Crude steel output stable m-o-m
JSW Steel’s crude steel production in May ’21 was at 1.36 million tonnes (mn t), largely flat as compared to 1.37mn t in Apr ’21.
On an annual basis, the output increased by 10% against 1.24 mn t in May’20..
Flat-rolled production up 4% m-o-m
Flat-rolled production stood at 0.99 mn t in May ’21, up by 4% month-on-month (m-o-m) compared to 0.95 mn t a month ago. The same moved up by 10% year-on-year (y-o-y) against 0.91 mn t in May ’20.
Long-rolled production down 8% m-o-m
JSW produced 0.30 mn t of long steel in May ’21, down 8% in comparison with 0.33 mn t a month ago.
On the other hand, the output of long steel rose by 55% y-o-y against 0.20 mn t in May ’20.
Factors impacting production
1. Higher demand in overseas markets: India’s finished steel exports jumped by 30% m-o-m to 1.24 mn t in May ’21 against 0.95 mn t in the previous month, according to provisional data released by the Joint Plant Committee.
With disruptions in domestic trade due to lockdowns in many states in the country, the company resorted to seeking overseas market opportunities. Indian mills continued to take advantage of higher realisations in the overseas markets, with the export offers increasing by around $101/t m-o-m in May ’21. .
SteelMint’s average monthly HRC export index stood at $1,027/t FoB in May ’21 as against $926/t FoB a month ago.
2. Diversion of oxygen for medical purposes: JSW Steel supplied over 30,000 tonnes of liquid oxygen as medical aid in May ’21 as against 20,000 t in Apr ’21 from all its steel complexes in India which, in turn, resulted in a capacity utilisation rate of 91% in May ’21.
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