Steel Market Production Increases – Mexican steelmaker SIMEC is planning to commission a new 520,000 billet mini-mill in July 2013 in Brazil, with a 400,000 tpy bar and wire rod mill on site that could eventually be expanded to 560,000 tpy.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Indian steel company JSW has idled an 800,000 tpy Corex ironmaking furnace at the Vijayanagar facility for a scheduled 90-day maintenance outage that began on October 15.

Steel Market Production Cuts – Spanish steelmaker Celsa is planning to reduce crude steel production at the company’s Barcelona facility from an average of 2.0 mtpy to 1.33 mtpy in 2013.

Steel Market Production Increases – Italian steel company AFV Beltrame Group has commissioned a 350,000 tpy heavy plate mill at the company’s Laminados Industriales subsidiary in Argentina. The mill will eventually reach design capacity of 500,000 tpy and two new sections rolling mills will be “developed between 2013 and 2015.”

Steel Market Production Increases – ArcelorMittal announced that production is returning to “normal” at the Dabrowa Gornicza facility’s No. 3 blast furnace in Poland after an accident at the already repaired No. 2 BF in late October.

Sources: Steel Business Briefing, SteelOrbis, MetalBulletin