Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steel company Baogang has ordered a 400,000 tpy quenching line to produce rails and is expected to begin operations within twelve months.

Steel Market Production Increases – Indian steelmaker Agni Steel is close to commissioning the billet plant of a new South African rebar facility, with the finishing end not expected to come on-line until at least 2014.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Chicago based steelmaker JMC Steel Group has laid off roughly 43% of the workforce at its subsidiary Energex Tube’s Ontario facility and is contemplating a permanent closure of a pipe mill at the location.

Sources: Steel Business Briefing, SteelOrbis, American Metal Market

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steelmaker Wanli New Materials recently began production of a new 1.2 mtpy pickling line and has plans to commission a 400,000 tpy annealing line in January.

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steel company Guoheng Die-Casting Co. is investing in a new steelmaking facility that will have capacity of 900,000 tpy as well as a 1 mtpy longs rolling mill that are expected to come online by the end of 2013.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Taiwanese steelmaker Dragon Steel Corp announced that it will postpone the planned start-date of a 2.5 mtpy blast furnace at the Taichung facility from year-end 2012 to March 2013.

Steel Market Production Increases – Production has been temporarily halted at ArcelorMittal’s Basse-Indre facility in France, due to a strike over the possible shifting of pickling operations from Basse-Indre to the Florange facility. The strike is expected to end by Friday.

Sources: Steel Business Briefing, SteelOrbis

Steel Market Production Increases – Italian steelmaker Ilva has received authorization from a governmental decree to resume production at the 11 mtpy Taranto facility, according to the environmental plan that was issued to the facility in late October. The plant will resume production on Friday, after a week-long idling as a sign of respect to a worker that died in a storm-related accident last Wednesday.

Steel Market Production Increases – Russian steelmaker TMK plans to commission a 900,000 tpy EAF at its Tagmet facility by mid-2013, replacing three open hearth furnaces with a combined capacity of 600,000 tpy. Later in 2013, TMK will also commission a 600,000 tpy seamless pipe mill at the Seversky facility.

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steelmaker Baotou Iron and Steel said that it is close to completing the upgrade of the No. 2 rolling line at its rail and beam facility, which will raise capacity to 1.5 mtpy.

Steel Market Production Increases – Chinese steelmaker Shaogang has begun trials of the company’s new 670,000 tpy round bar rolling mill in southern China, with an additional mill for small-diameter bars set for commissioning by year-end.

Sources: Steel Business Briefing, SteelOrbis