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Try the Free AI Search EngineAsia Steel Faces Production Cuts Amid EU Duties: Acheng Steel Bucking the Trend
Asia’s steel market faces a potentially negative outlook due to recent EU trade actions. Several EU commission announcements regarding duties on Chinese steel exports, including “EU amends advertising on tinplate from China“, “EU imposes definitive Chinese organic coated steel duties“, “EU maintains AD duties on organic coated steel from China” and “EU imposes final Chinese duties on organically coated steel” suggest that Chinese producers of coated steel products may begin to produce for their internal market and cut down export volumes. However, the satellite data only provides limited insight into production shifts.
The mean steel plant activity in Asia has fluctuated between 38% and 43% from February to July 2025, before drastically dropping to 8% in August. Jianglong Acheng Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. consistently showed significantly higher activity compared to the Asian average, reaching a peak of 99% in June. Xiwang Metal Science Technology Co., Ltd. remained relatively stable at around 45% until a drop to 37% in July. Tata Steel Jamshedpur consistently operated above the Asian average, peaking at 62% in June and July. The August data show significant drops in average activity, however individual plant data is unavailable.
Jianglong Acheng Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., located in Heilongjiang, China, is an integrated steel plant with a crude steel capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), primarily using basic oxygen furnace (BOF) technology. The plant is certified by ResponsibleSteel. Specializing in hot-rolled and coated steel products for the automotive, energy, and machinery sectors, its activity has been consistently high, peaking at 99% in June 2025. While the EU duties target coated steel, a direct correlation between this and Acheng’s activity could not be explicitly established.
Xiwang Metal Science Technology Co., Ltd., based in Shandong, China, has a crude steel capacity of 2.8 mtpa, utilizing both BOF and electric arc furnace (EAF) technologies, and is also ResponsibleSteel certified. It produces special steel ingots, high-quality bearing steel, gear steel, steel for construction machinery, bars, and wire products. The plant’s activity decreased to 37% in July, but no explicit connection to the named EU duties could be established from the provided information.
Tata Steel Jamshedpur, located in Jharkhand, India, boasts a substantial crude steel capacity of 10 mtpa, relying on BOF technology within an integrated BF-BOF process. The plant manufactures wire, tinplated steel, and tubes. Its activity remained relatively stable, peaking at 62% in June and July, but no explicit connection to the provided EU duties could be established.
Market Implications and Procurement Actions:
The EU’s imposition of anti-dumping duties on Chinese organic coated steel, as outlined in “EU imposes definitive Chinese organic coated steel duties“, “EU maintains AD duties on organic coated steel from China” and “EU imposes final Chinese duties on organically coated steel“, may lead to decreased availability of these products from Chinese suppliers and potentially increased domestic prices within China. With Xiwang Metal Science Technology Co., Ltd’s activity decreasing, and given their product range including bars and wire products, procurement professionals should proactively engage with alternative suppliers of these products outside of China. They should look to secure supply and hedge against potential price increases stemming from reduced Chinese exports. There is no clear justification in the data to suggest a need for altered procurement strategies regarding hot-rolled products, tinplated steel, or tubes. The sharp drop in August mean activity can currently not be attributed to the available information.