ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) is the largest steel producer in South Africa. Its sales and crude steel production in 2024 both fell by 6% year-on-year, as domestic sales fell by 8% year-on-year to 1.8 million tons, even as export sales increased by 2%.

AMSA’s average capacity utilization rate fell to 63% in 2024, down from 67% in 2023, due to a blast furnace cooling unit failure in the second quarter.

However, the company completed the Blast Furnace C shotcrete and cooling furnace repairs in the fourth quarter, which should help the recovery in 2025.

According to AMSA, losses in 2024 amounted to 5.8 billion South African rand. The challenges facing the South African steel industry were enormous.