Tangshan, China's largest steelmaking city, ordered sweeping production cuts on 19 March 2021 in the toughest pollution crackdown the hub had yet faced. The city's air pollution control office told seven steelmakers to cut emissions by 50 percent from 20 March to 30 June and by 30 percent from 1 July to the end of the year. Another 16 mills were ordered to cut emissions by 30 percent for the whole period from 20 March to 31 December. Only two mills, Shougang Qian'an and Shougang Jingtang, were exempt because of their environmental performance. The curbs hit sintering machines and blast furnaces hardest, and analysts at CRU estimated they could cut Tangshan's output by up to 31 million tonnes in 2021. Tangshan produced 144 million tonnes in 2020, about 13.7 percent of China's total. Iron ore prices fell on the news, with 62 percent fines losing $6.20 to $159.80 per tonne on 19 March, as traders braced for weaker raw material demand from the city.
Source: SteelOrbis — https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-prices/steel-prices-market-analyses/scrap-and-raw-materials/tangshan-issues-output-restrictions-for-rest-of-2021-iron-ore-prices-fall-1191518.htm
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).