The steel industry was on a roll in 2009 with major producers like Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Rourkela Steel Plant not only registering a surge in production but also in sales.

Tata Steel for the first time, surpassed its monthly crude steel production mark of 6 lakh tonne in December last year, thus catapulting its works to 7.2 million tonne per annum (mtpa) plant against a rated capacity of 6.8 mtpa. The steel major produced a best-ever 6,50,767 tonne hot metal during December, thus enhancing its plant?s hot metal capacity to 7.8 mtpa. Sales stood at 0.636 mt in December 2009 compared to 0.368 mt in the previous year, up 73%, with the steel major registering a 90% and 56% increase in sales of flat products and long products.

During Q3, Tata Steel registered a 49% growth in sales over the corresponding period last year as it sold 1.597 mt steel against 1.071 mt steel sold in the year-ago period. Its saleable steel production for the third quarter has been up 37% as it produced 1.688 mt against the 1.235 mt produced during the three corresponding months of 2008.

Country?s third-largest steel manufacturer JSW Steel Ltd also saw its crude steel output soaring 88% to 14.69 lakh tonne in Q3 ended December 2009 over 7.82 lakh tonne in the year-ago period. Production of flat rolled products grew 51% to 9.41 lakh tonne, while that of long products surged 199% to 2.37 lakh tonne, JSW Steel said. The company?s crude steel production rose 59% to 43.9 lakh tonne in the nine months ended December 2009 over the corresponding period in the previous year. JSW Steel is among the low-cost steel producers and currently, makes flat and long products at its plant at Bellary in Karnataka with a capacity of 6.8 million tonne.

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), too has concluded the calendar year 2009 on a high note by notching up the highest saleable steel production of 2.02 mt for any year. ?This achievement was made possible because of the best-ever calendar year performance in the hot strip mill with production of 1.54 mt of HR coil,? said RSP managing director SN Singh.