Flat Makers

Shrugging off downturn with special offerings

- Tamajit Pain

Flat steel products are commonly used in capital goods, consumer durables or white goods and automotive industry. Flat steel comprises of hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, hot rolled plates and galvanized coil which are rolled from semi-finished steel products such as slabs, ingots or billets in the slabbing mills.

Flat Steel market in India is dominated by JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Essar Steel (now ArcelorNippon Steel).

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) is mainly into plates.

Apparent flat product consumption in FY19 stood at around 44.39 million tons (alloy + non-alloy), up 4 percent from 42.58 million tons in the same period last year, according to steel ministry data.

Consumption of non-alloy HR coils in FY19 stood at 14.94 million tons, up 2.7 percent from 14.54 million tons in corresponding period last year. Consumption of non-alloy plates stood at 5.60 million tons, up 8 percent from 5.18 million tons in the same period last year.

Consumption of CR sheets/coils stood at 5.87 million tons, while that of GP/GC & Galvalume stood at 7.29 million tons.

Import of flat products (non-alloy + alloy) in FY19 stood at 6.78 million tons, while exports stood at 5.37 million tons, according to JPC figures.

Latest data showed during the April-December period of FY20, flat products consumption (non-alloy + alloy) rose 1 percent to 35.82 million tons. Import of flat products during the April-December period of FY20 stood at 4.91 million tons (non-alloy + alloy), while exports stood at 5.81 million tons (non-alloy + alloy).

Drop in imports and increment in exports implied that the country is now producing export quality material meeting international demands.

However, the domestic demand for flat products remained low owing to slow demand in consumer durables or white goods, capital goods and automobile sector.

Flat steel products