Steel industry in India partially resumes operations

The Indian steel industry has begun a gradual resumption of production despite no clear indication of when the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic will be lifted completely.

The government extended the ban until May 17, which was due to expire on Sunday. It was expanded as there were fears that the country could lose its gains in the fight against coronavirus if the lockdown was not continued.

JSW Steel said Monday it has resumed operations and is "gradually increasing capacity." On March 25, JSW, which has an annual capacity of about 18 million tonnes, cut domestic steel production, but did not provide details.

On March 25, JSW closed one blast furnace at its plant in Vijanagara, Karnataka, and on March 25 reduced production figures in the remaining three by 50%, and from March 26 by 25-30%.

Elsewhere, starting May 2, Monnet Ispat & Energy has reopened its steel mill in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, the steel mill said Sunday.

But its Raipur Chhattisgarh will remain temporarily suspended until further notice. ”Ispat Coins, with a production capacity of 1.2-1.3 million tonnes, was transferred to Aion Investments II and JSW Steel in August 2018. ...

Steel cable company Usha Martin said it resumed partial operation of its plant in Ranchi, Jharkhand state on April 23 after it was shut down as a result of a government order. The total production capacity of the company is 250,000 tons per year.

Most recently, Usha Martin rebuilt his plant in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, on Thursday.

Goa Carbon, which closed its 125,000 tpa plant in Paradipa in Odisha on March 23, is expected to resume operations on Thursday. The company produces calcined petroleum coke, which is used in graphite electrodes for electric arc furnaces and increases the carbon content in steel and iron foundries.

Against the backdrop of the March closure, India produced 8.04 million tonnes of crude steel, down 20.0% year on year and 15.9% less than in February, according to the Joint Production Committee, while finished steel in March fell 23.7% year on year to 7.09 million tons, which was also 14.5% lower than a month earlier.

Steel demand is expected to be weak in April as automakers released weak sales data.

For example, Maruti Suzuki India reported zero domestic sales in April as all of its factories were closed due to a lockdown, while Bajaj Auto announced April sales of 37,878 units, a 91% increase.