India: Finish Long Steel Production Fall by 16%

Finish long steel output in India plunged by 15.59% M-o-M in Apr'19, as per recent data released by Joint Plant Committee (JPC).

As per data maintained by SteelMint, Finish long steel production in India registered at 3.79 MnT in Apr'19, down by 15.59% on monthly basis as against 4.49 MnT in Mar'19.

On the contrary, yearly basis it has slightly inched up by 1.33% and stood at 3.74 MnT in Apr'18.

Factors behind fall in production

Inadequate Demand - Rebar demand remained quite slow during the month and prices dropped by around INR 1,000/MT (USD 14) through the medium & small scale mills, while on the other hand large mills prices were unaltered and they raised trade discounts in most of the major regions.

Liquidity crunch - Lack of fund allocations notified from the central government during general elections where most of the construction activities were halted along with labor absence due to usual weather conditions.

Rising Stock - Inventory level is one of the key factors which needs to be considered for falling production in finish long through the large mills as stock level stretched up by around 10% and registered at 5.36 MnT as on 30th Apr'19 in comparison with 4.88 MnT till 1st Apr'19 and major proportionate have been registered by PSU i.e. up to 27%.

Company-Wise Rebar Production in Apr'19 (Non Alloy)

-- SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) remained top producer among large mills and registered at 0.36 MnT, recording drop of 27% M-o-M and also recorded seven months low since from Oct'18.

-- RINL popularly known as Vizag Steel - 0.35 MnT (-15%), JSW Steel - 0.29 MnT (-6%), TATA Steel - 0.27 MnT (+4%) and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd - 0.19 MnT (0%).

-- Major proportionate of finish long steel production recorded by medium/small scale mills at 2.34 MnT, down by 18% M-o-M, whose market share was about 61.74%.