World cost curve - hot rolled steel bar.

World cost curve - steel bar - 2019

A cost curve is shown of MCI's steel bar ex-works production cost estimates for all major world steelmakers with bar mill capacity of over ~300 kt/year. Approx 250 steel plants from around the world are included in the analysis.

The world's lowest cost producer of HRC in mid-2019 was judged to be Sidor in Venezuela, with a hot rolled bar cash cost of ~$250 / tonne. Sidor's low cost position arises from its access to low cost iron ore and cheap natural gas.

Not far behind in cost terms are ArcelorMittal's Termirtau facility in Kazakhstan, and Isdemir in Turkey - both plants have access to low-cost captive iron ore (and in the case of Temirtau, cheap energy also). These facilities in 2019 had bar cash costs of approximately $310-$330 per tonne.

At the other end of the scale lie some of the small volume Italian scrap-based steelmakers. We judge these plants to have rebar production costs close to ~$600 / tonne, being disadvantaged both by their small scale and by the relatively high costs in 2019 of scrap-based steelmaking..

For further information (or to purchase the analysis behind this chart, showing the cost breakdowns and relative cost positions of all 250 bar mills) please contact Metals Consulting International Limited [MCI] by email at info@steelonthenet.com.