Jamshedpur, Nov. 7: Now it’s the turn of more small units to feel the heat of the slowdown. At least half-a-dozen sponge iron units and three times that many induction furnaces in the Singhbhum region have downed shutters in the last couple of months.

A drastic fall in prices of finished products have adversely impacted almost all the 36 induction furnaces located in and around Chandil, Dhalbhumgarh and Adityapur Industrial Area (AIA).

If half of them have shut shop already, it’s because the price of ingots, produced by them, has come down to Rs 23,000 per tonne from Rs 33,000 per tonne a few months ago.

However, there has been no corresponding fall in prices of raw materials_ mostly iron ore and scrap _ forcing the closure of several furnaces.

“Apart from induction furnaces, sponge iron units are also facing the same problem. Though the price of their finished product has come down, the cost of raw materials has remained stagnant.

“There are around a dozen such units in the region,” said Suresh Sonthalia, vice-president of Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) In the last month, we were forced to shut down production for 10-15 days on the trot. We had no other option,” said Sagar Mal Sharma, the owner of Kamsa Steel in Adityapur, that used to produce 400 tonne of ingots per month.

Chamber officials said induction furnaces in Singhbhum have a production capacity of 50-450 tonne per month. Among those that have had to shut shop were Himadri Steel, Jawahar Steel, Sukh Sagar Steel and Hari Om Ingot at Dhalbhumgarh, A.S. Ispat, Ignite Steel, Divine Steel at Chandil and Santhal Multicast, Nekar Casting, Kali Mati Steel and Gorak Nath Steel at Adityapur.

According to the owner of a furnace, the price of iron ore varied between Rs 5,400 to Rs 4,000 per tonne even though the price of finished products plummeted. But now, they have something to cheer about as the signs are positive.

“In last week, prices of iron ore has come down to Rs 3,700 per tonne. But we can resume operations only after it comes down by another Rs 800-Rs 900 per tonne,” said Sharma.

Owners of sponge iron units claimed the cost of sponge iron in the open market had plummeted to Rs 11,000 per tonne. “However, we are not in position to sell finished products at less than Rs 17,000 per tonne. Though, the price of iron ore has come down, there is no relief on coal yet,” said one of them.

Among the sponge iron units that have had to down shutters were — Chandil Industries Limited, Ashirwad Industries Private Limited, Cable Metallic, Narsingh Ispat and Saizar Private Limited.