In October this year, Ukrainian crude steel output continued to show improvement, with domestic steelmakers producing 2.882 million mt, up 5.1 percent compared to September.
Accordingly, October's improvement was mainly driven by increased production of Ukraine's largest mills, ArcelorMittal Kriviy Rih and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol (Ilyich), which expanded their crude steel outputs by 10 percent and 17.6 percent month on month respectively, and by an 11.2 percent month-on-month increase in the crude steel output of ISD's subsidiary Dneprovsky Iron and Steel Works named after F. Dzerzhinsky (DMKD).
In contrast, Metinvest's two flagship mills, Azovstal and Yenakievo, scaled back production by 1.4 percent and 24.2 percent month on month respectively, due to the scheduled maintenance works that were concluded in late October. Rounding off Ukraine's largest steel producers, ISD's subsidiary Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Alchevsk) continued its slump in output, again due to a shortage of iron ore deliveries that forced it to halt two of four blast furnaces in mid-October, Eugen Dubogryz, analyst from BG Capital, said.
In January-October 2010, Alchevsk and ISD's other subsidiary DMKD remained the worst performers, both seeing drops in their steel production of around 20 percent year on year, while Ilyich, ArcelorMittal Kriviy Rih, and Metinvest's Azovstal lead the way, posting increases of about 33 percent, 27 percent and 26.5 percent year on year respectively.