Austria’s steelmakers decreased crude steel production in July compared with the previous month, according to worldsteel data.
Output amounted to 633,380 tonnes, down by 0.6% from June and 0.5% less year-on-year, Kallanish notes. Austria remained in 22nd place in the ranking of top global steel producers, worldsteel data show.
In January-July, however, the country produced 4.47 million tonnes of steel, up 0.9% on-year.
Overall EU output in July decreased by 4.7% y-o-y to 10.8mt. In the first seven months of the year, steel production was 11.4% more on-year versus January-July 2023 to 78mt.
Austria’s largest steelmaker, voestalpine, said earlier it is carrying out the modernisation of its blast furnace No.6 in Linz that will last 80 days and cost $33 million (see Kallanish passim). A similar modernisation will start later at a BF in Donawitz.
The company observed that market trends have not changed significantly following the start of its 2024/25 business year in April.
In fiscal 2023/24 – ending March 2024 – voestalpine achieved satisfactory results, with overseas markets performing better than Europe. It said it expects good demand from railway infrastructure, aerospace, and warehouse technology to continue. The automotive industry and the energy sector, as its main segments, should largely continue their stable development to date.
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria