Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant (ChTPZ Group’s largest tube and pipe manufacturers) supplied their consumers with 107,900 tons of tubular goods in January 2008, which falls short of figures for January 2007 (148,400 tons) by 27%.

ChTPZ Group sold 58,200 tons of tubes and pipes in the first month of the year, which fall short of the figures for a year earlier (that is, 81,800 tons) by 29%. These figures include 34,200 tons of large-diameter pipes, which is 34% less than in January 2007 (51,600 tons).

Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant delivered 49,700 tons of tubular goods to consumers in January 2008 (which falls short of last year’s figures (66,600 tons) by 25%). According to ChTPZ Group’s press officer, the drop in sales has to do with the increased market activity in January 2007 when Russian oil and gas companies were busy with their large-scale pipeline construction projects and ChTPZ, for instance, sold plenty of goods to Transneft for its pipeline connecting East Siberia and the Pacific. This year, the company’s output will decrease slightly compared to the year 2007 due to smaller demand for large-diameter pipes. At the same time, the demand for producing strings, cold-deformed tubes, boiler tubes, and casing pipes is expected to go up, thus allowing the company to raise its production output in these fields.