Swedish mills registered a considerable decline in crude steel production in September and October compared with the corresponding previous-year months.
In September, Sweden produced 273,000 tonnes of crude steel, 11% less than in September 2024, Kallanish learns from national steel association Jernkontoret. From January through September, a total of 3.03 million tonnes of crude steel was produced in Sweden, which was 0.5% less on-year.
In the third quarter alone, however, production increased by 4% compared with the same period last year. According to Jernkontoret, production fluctuated significantly during the summer months due to several maintenance shutdowns and other overhauls. This caused a freaky compensation effect in August, which reported a 53% on-year surge.
“After a weak first half of the year, we are now seeing positive results for the third quarter. Annual production remains close to last year’s level, albeit slightly lower,” said Mathias Ternell, director of Trade Policy at Jernkontoret.
However, October continued the downward trend brought by September. At 282,000t, output was down 8.5% on-year. “Production stoppages for maintenance and other reasons continued into October, resulting in a weak start to the third quarter. The annual rate remains just below last year’s level,” equating to a 1.2% decline for the first ten months, Ternell concludes.
Christian Koehl Germany
