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Try the Free AI Search EngineIndia Steel Market: Coke Shortages, Import Rule Changes, and Stable Plant Activity
India’s steel market faces evolving dynamics due to coke shortages and changing import regulations, while key steel plants maintain relatively steady activity levels. “JSW Steel seeks to increase its coke import quotas to cover shortages” indicates potential raw material constraints. “India exempts 72 steel plants from new import rules” introduces changes to the import landscape that may impact supply chains, but appears not to have had any negative impact on the plant activity during the observed timeframe. These regulatory adjustments are happening amidst an “Indian anti-dumping petition” targeting Chinese alloy steel, although this has no direct relation to observed activity levels.
India’s coking coal imports through major ports saw a slight increase of 0.75% year-on-year according to the article “India’s coking coal import port traffic up 0.75 percent in April-July“.
The mean steel plant activity in India has decreased significantly from 46% in February 2025 to 22% in August 2025. However, this decline does not appear to be directly related to the mentioned news articles, which focus on import regulations, coke shortages, and anti-dumping measures. Tata Steel Kalinganagar steel plant shows a steady increase in activity from 46% in February 2025 to 56% in August 2025. Tata Steel Jamshedpur steel plant activity has also increased from 56% in February 2025 to 62% in July 2025. Atibir Industries steel plant demonstrates the highest activity levels and shows a consistent trend, starting at 65% in February 2025 and reaching 67% in August 2025. All selected steel plants are showing higher activity levels than the average of the Indian steel plants and have managed to increase their activity levels over the observed time period.
Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar plant in Odisha, with a 3 million tonne crude steel capacity using BF-BOF technology, has shown a continuous rise in activity levels, reaching 56% in August. The steady activity increase doesn’t show immediate impact from coke shortages indicated in “JSW Steel seeks to increase its coke import quotas to cover shortages”, but potential future supply chain vulnerabilities should be monitored.
Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant in Jharkhand, a much larger integrated operation with 10 million tonne crude steel capacity (BF-BOF), displays stable activity around the 60% level until July. No data is available for August. It is unclear whether the exemption granted to overseas plants as per “India exempts 72 steel plants from new import rules” has directly impacted Jamshedpur’s operations; no immediate effect is observed.
Atibir Industries, also located in Jharkhand, is a smaller integrated plant (600,000 tonnes crude steel using BF-BOF technology) exhibits consistently high activity, around 67% throughout the observed period. Similar to other plants, no direct impact from the cited news can be established within the observation window.
The potential coke shortages highlighted in “JSW Steel seeks to increase its coke import quotas to cover shortages” warrants close monitoring of JSW Steel’s production and supply chains. Though the observed activity data of the selected plants do not yet reflect this, steel buyers should consider diversifying their sourcing to mitigate risks associated with potential coke-related production disruptions.
Procurement professionals should note that while “India exempts 72 steel plants from new import rules” might suggest increased availability of imported raw materials, the “Indian anti-dumping petition” could lead to increased prices for alloy steel from China. Buyers should assess their reliance on Chinese alloy steel and explore alternative sourcing options or prepare for potential price increases if the anti-dumping petition is successful.