【EAF】Independent EAF Operation Rate Continues to Rise 

in the Third Week After Spring Festival

This week, the production situation of 87 independent electric arc furnace steel plants (of which 76 are engaged in the production of construction steel) is as follows: 

1. The average operation rate of 87 independent electric arc furnace steel plants in China is 63.19%, an increase of 27.58 percentage points compared to the previous week but a decrease of 11.65 percentage points year-on-year. The operation rates in the North China region have slightly rebounded, while those in the East, South, Central, and Southwest China regions have increased significantly, with the rest remaining stable. Details of graphite electrode products for short process electric arc furnace steel mills.

2. The average capacity utilization rate of 87 independent electric arc furnace steel plants in China is 48.30%, an increase of 19.19 percentage points compared to the previous week but a decrease of 15.05 percentage points year-on-year. Significant increases were observed in North, East, South, Central, and Southwest China, with the rest remaining stable.

3. The average daily crude steel production of 87 independent electric arc furnace steel plants in China increased by 65.88% compared to the previous week.

4. For the 76 construction material independent electric arc furnace steel plants, the weekly production of rebar increased by 81.18%, and the production of wire rods increased by 59.66%.

5. The profit situation of products from the 76 construction material independent electric arc furnace steel plants in China is as follows: 15.79% of the steel plants were marginally profitable, 59.21% remained stable (partially due to production suspensions), and 25.00% incurred losses.

This week, the national independent electric arc furnace operation rate and capacity utilization rate continued to rise significantly. In the third week after the holiday, steel plants that had postponed their resumption of production gradually resumed operations, mainly concentrated in the South, East, and Central regions. Currently, some electric arc furnace steel plants in the Northeast region have partially resumed rolling processes, but steelmaking has not yet resumed. Therefore, the operation rate remains at 0. Based on the production time of the resumed steel plants, the output of finished products has continued to decline recently. Additionally, due to the high prices of scrap steel stored before the holiday, profitability has been poor. Currently, the proportion of loss-making steel plants exceeds that of profitable ones. Therefore, most of the steel plants that resumed production this week have staggered production, and some have started to shorten their production time to reduce losses.

Looking at the resumption of production next week, one steel plant in the East China region is expected to resume production on the 7th, and one in the Central China region is expected to resume production on the 10th. Currently, the price difference between scrap steel and finished products remains below 1000 yuan/ton, and some steel plants may continue to reduce their production time. It is expected that the operation rate and capacity utilization rate of independent electric arc furnace plants will increase slightly next week. Contact us for more market information on electric arc furnaces.