Capacity utilisation in India reached 87% over the period

India’s JSW Steel increased its consolidated steel output by 3% year-on-year in July this year, to 2.4 million tonnes, according to SMM.

Production volumes at Indian plants rose by 4% year-on-year during the period – to 2.34 million tonnes, with capacity utilisation in the country reaching 87%.

Meanwhile, JSW Steel USA, based in Ohio, produced 0.06 million tonnes in July, a 13% increase compared with the same period last year.

The company also reported that the modernised No. 3 blast furnace at its Vijayanagar plant, which was restarted on 23 June, is operating at more than 80% of its rated capacity. Increasing the capacity of this unit is crucial for JSW Steel’s production prospects. The company currently has a total steel production capacity of 37.9 million tonnes per annum, including 4.5 million tonnes through the JSW JFE Steel joint venture, and plans to increase this to 54.8 million tonnes over the next four years.

It should be noted that, at the end of July, production resumed at the rail rolling mill of JSW Steel’s Italian subsidiary in Piombino. The plant had been idle since 16 July due to equipment failure. The shutdown was caused by the successive failure of two of its motors. At present, the rail rolling mill remains the site’s sole key operational asset, supplying products to the Italian national railway operator, Ferrovie dello Stato.