India-based steelmaker JSW Steel produced a record 7.03 million mt of consolidated crude steel in the third quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, up 2% year over year and 4% higher quarter over quarter.

Third-quarter production in India also rose 3% year over year and 3% from the second quarter to a record 6.82 million mt, with capacity utilization at the Indian operations, excluding trial run production of 120,000 mt, at 91% for the quarter, it said in a statement.

It said production and capacity utilization for the quarter was affected by temporary maintenance activity at one of the blast furnaces at Dolvi in October. It resumed normal operations in the first week of November, it said.

For its JSW Steel USA operations in Ohio, JSW said it produced 210,000 mt in the third quarter, down from 240,000 mt a year earlier but up from 140,000 mt in the second quarter.

For the nine months to Dec. 31, JSW said it produced 20.16 million mt of consolidated crude steel, up 3% year over year, with its Indian operations producing 19.58 million mt, 3% higher year over year, and its US operations producing 580,000 mt, down 6%.

JSW also said its 5 million mt/year integrated steel project at Vijayanagar, set up by its 100%-owned subsidiary JSW Vijayanagar Metallics, was progressing well.

“Post commissioning of a 4.5 million mt/year blast furnace, raw material handling system and sinter plant in Q2 FY25, JVML commissioned one out of the two converters and castors at the steel melt shop during Q3 FY25,” it said, adding that it expected to ramp up of production at the 5 million mt/year facility in the fourth quarter of the financial year.

“Once fully ramped up, total crude steel capacity at Vijayanagar will increase to 17.5 million mt/year, contributing to JSW Steel’s overall Indian operation’s crude steel capacity rising from 29.2 million mt/year to 34.2 million mt/year,” JSW said.