Posted on Fort Russ

3/3/2015

Ukraine’s steel production falls by 29%

Translated from Russian by J.Hawk

Ukrainian steel mills reduced their output of steel in January and February of 2015 by 19% in comparison with January and February of 2014, to 3,462 million tons.

The overall production of rolled iron dropped by 30% , to 3,058 million tons, and cast iron fell by 31%, to 3,153 million tons.

Pipe output fell by 36%, and coke output by 42%.

The decline is continuing. While in January Ukraine produced 1,874 million tons of steel, in February that figure was only 1,588 million tons. In January produced 78 thousand tons of pipe, but in February only 51 thousand tons. For cast iron the figures for January and February are 1,720 million tons and 1,433 million tons.

Idle plants include the Yenakievo mill and its associated Makeevka plant, the Alchevsk mill, the Donetsk Electro-Metallurgical Plant, and the Donetsk Metal Rolling Plant.

J.Hawk’s Comment: Let’s not forget this was Ukraine’s big source of foreign currency, and one of the bright spots in an otherwise fairly dismal economy. That that bright spot is fading very, very rapidly. The January-February collapse is particularly startling. Ukraine’s problems with coal supply no doubt has had an impact on steel production as well, and may account for the rapid fall in production during the first two months of the year.

http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2015/03/ukraines-iron-and-steel-production-fall.html