Steel Market Production Cuts – An electric arc furnace (EAF) malfunction at Ductil Steel’s Otelu Rosu billet plant has forced the Romanian longs producer to halt melting operations on March 10th.

Steel Market Production Cuts – The Spanish-headquartered welded tube maker Condesa is ceasing production at its Tubos de Celra site in Catalunya, Spain, as part of a plan aimed at adapting its production capacity to current demand.

Steel Market Production Increases – Mexico’s Tenaris Tamsa, controlled by Techint Group, commissioned operations at its first sucker rod plant with an annual capacity of 1.2m in Veracruz, México, increasing Tenaris’ current production capacity by approximately 20%.

Steel Market Production Increases – Hungarian flats producer ISD Dunaferr plans to increase its rolling production by almost 60% to as high as 2.5 mt by year’s end, as Europe’s economy improves.

Steel Market Production Increases – Tianjin Pipe (TPCO) plans to begin “vertical” construction this month on a finishing and threading facility in Gregory, Texas, the first phase of which is expected to be completed by early 2013. The seamless steel pipe mill will eventually have an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes.

Steel Market Production Increases – Ariazob Steel’s new rolling mill was formally inaugurated on Sunday March 11th, which has a rolling capacity of 400,000 tpy of rebar and round bar.

Steel Market Production Increases – Kuwaiti-Japanese joint venture Sulb expects a September start to production at a 900,000 tpy meltshop in Bahrain, which will make the company almost entirely self-sufficient in billet for its facilities both in Bahrain and in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

Steel Market Production Increases – Venezuelan steelmaker Sidetur expects to triple its 2011 rebar output of 184,000 tonnes to 540,000 in 2012.

Sources: American Metal Market, Steel Business Briefing, Metal Bulletin