Iran-US conflict pushing up costs for steel industry: Tata Steel MD

The Iran-US conflict in West Asia is raising costs for the steel industry due to higher freight and insurance rates, says Tata Steel MD T V Narendran. He added that supply constraints for fuels and industrial inputs are also adding to the pressure.

West Asia Conflict Hits Steel Industry Costs

The ongoing conflict involving Iran and the United States in the West Asia region is pushing up costs for the steel industry, mainly due to rising freight and insurance rates, Tata Steel Managing Director T V Narendran said on Wednesday.

Speaking to ANI, Narendran said the geopolitical tensions are affecting the industry in several ways, though steel production has not been hit so far. "It is increasing the cost for the industry because freight rates and insurance rates have gone up," he said.

He added that supply constraints for certain fuels and industrial inputs are also adding to the pressure. "Sometimes there are constraints in supply of LPG and LNG and the cost of supply has also increased," Narendran said.

According to him, the impact is being felt across the supply chain, including among downstream manufacturing units that depend on steel. "It is impacting in multiple ways... it has not hurt production yet, but it is impacting cost in different ways," he said.

Narendran also noted that some customer segments such as fabrication units are facing difficulties due to rising costs. "It's impacting some of our customers, fabrication units, who are struggling sometimes," he added.

Odisha's Steel Sector Growth Roadmap

Meanwhile, Narendran said the Indian steel industry recently held discussions with the Odisha government on the long-term growth of the sector in the state. The meeting, organised by the Indian Steel Association, focused on the future expansion of steel production in Odisha, which is one of India's largest steel-producing states.

Narendran said the discussion was not about company-specific expansion plans but about the broader growth roadmap for the state. "Today about 27 million tonnes of steel is produced in Odisha and the discussion was on how to take it to 100 million tonnes between all the steel companies," he said.

He added that the industry is working with the government to identify bottlenecks that could affect the sector's long-term growth. The meeting was attended by several major steel producers including Tata Steel and Jindal Steel and Power Limited and all the others (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)