The ‘Long' Way Forward

Finished steel production and consumption is divided into two broad categories - long and flat products. In addition to these two prime segments, finished steel output and consumption also includes alloy steel. Among these product segments, long steel products accounts for the largest share in country’s total finished steel production.

- Tamajit Pain & Sumit Maitra

What are long and flat products?

Long products are generally available in straight length/cut length barring wire rods which are normally available in irregularly wound coils. These finished steel products are normally produced by hot rolling/ forging of bloom/billets/pencil ingots into usable shapes or sizes. This product segment includes products like bars & rods, steel structurals and railway materials. Long products are generally used for construction, mechanical engineering and energy.

Flat products are finished steel products that are produced from slabs/thin slabs in rolling mills using flat rolls. These are supplied in Hot Rolled (HR), Cold Rolled (CR) or in coated condition depending upon the requirement.

This product segment involves Galvanised Plain/Galvanised Corrugated (GP/GC) sheets, Hot Rolled (HR) coils/ sheets, Cold Rolled (CR) sheets/coils, pipes, electrical sheets, tin plates and plates. Flat products are generally used for automotive and truck wheel frames and body parts, heavy machinery, pipes and tubes, construction, packaging and appliances.

Structure of steel industry in India

The steel companies in India manufacture steel using Blast Furnace-Blast Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF), Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) and IF (Induction Furnace) process. As per steel ministry data, 50.8 million tons (47 percent) of crude steel production operates through BF-BOF route, 27.70 mt (26 percent) of crude production works through EAF route and 28.77 mt (27 percent) of capacity uses IF route for steel production.