BEIJING—China's government identified 2,255 companies nationwide that must slash obsolete metal-output capacity, raising the number of targets from last year in its drive to control supply levels in an unruly sector.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a list of names, along with specific production facilities across 18 sectors that it wants dismantled by year end.

The top target was the steel sector, furthering a government theme during the past five years. Beijing took aim at 96 companies with 31.2 million metric tons in iron-foundry capacity, as well as 58 companies with 27.9 million tons of steelmaking capacity.

Last year, the government targeted a slightly higher number of iron and steel companies, calling for cuts among 175 producers out of a total of 2,087 companies targeted nationwide.

China's steelmakers account for half the world's steel, but the government has long been pushing industry leaders to consolidate and add value to an energy-sapping sector where unbridled production has often resulted in turf battles and volatile prices.

"Chinese heavy industry output remained strong in the second quarter of 2011...This does not necessarily reflect a resilient economy but it is more a fact that a powerful state-owned sector is taking resources away from a declining private sector," said Henry Liu, commodity-research head for Mirae Asset Securities, in a note.

While subsidiaries of larger steelmakers like Shougang Group Corp., Hebei Iron & Steel Group and Baosteel Group Corp. were named, the ministry's list is heavy on smaller producers such as Highsee Steel Group, Shanxi's largest privately owned mill, and Chengde Shengfeng Iron & Steel Co., which produces only about 1.3 million tons annually.

The cuts were more pronounced in Hebei province, with 291 companies targeted, largely because it is China's largest steel hub. Other heavily hit provinces include industrial centers such as Hunan, Shanxi and Henan.

China's annual steel-output capacity is about 700 million tons.

The combined target for capacity cuts in the iron and steel industry this year, at about 59 million tons, is considerably lower than the 179 million tons the government said was achieved last year.

While the ministry didn't explain the significantly lower target, the more conservative goal may be a more realistic target than last year's elevated level, which analysts said included some capacity that mills had already cut.

In copper smelting, the government named 24 companies with 425,000 tons of capacity.

In galvanized aluminum, another energy-intensive sector, Beijing targeted 22 companies with 6.2 million tons of capacity.

The amount of capacity to be culled among aluminum producers roughly reflected the difference between China's aluminum-output capacity and its consumption last year.

State-owned Aluminum Corp. of China, also called Chinalco, took the largest hits in this sector, with capacity at two of its subsidiaries accounting for one-fifth of the cuts.

In lead, the government is targeting a cut of 661,000 tons of capacity involving 38 companies.

Privately owned companies Jiyuan Jinli Smelting Co. and Anyang City Minshan Nonferrous Metals Co. bore the brunt of the ordered cuts in this polluting sector, accounting for one-fifth of the targets between them.

In zinc, the target is 338,000 tons of capacity involving 32 companies.

Companies in the coke-, cement-, paper- and glass-production sectors were also affected. In the coke sector, the government is aiming to cut 19.8 million tons of capacity involving 87 companies.

The government is only targeting portions of the companies' production, such as problematic furnaces. It isn't aiming to shut down the companies.