Steel Products Prices North America

World Steel Production Up Nearly 5 Percent This Year

Written by Tim Triplett

September 27, 2018

World crude steel production increased by 2.6 percent in August and was up by 4.8 percent through the first eight months of 2018. Leading the way was China with a 5.8 percent increase in production for the year to more than 617 million metric tons, reports the World Steel Association. WSA members represent about 85 percent of the world’s steel production.

U.S. steelmakers produced 7.5 million metric tons of crude steel in August, an increase of 5.1 percent compared to August 2017. For the first eight months, U.S. steel production increased by 4 percent to 56.9 million tons.

For the month of August, China’s crude steel production totaled 80.3 million tons, up 2.7 percent compared to August 2017. India produced 8.8 million tons, an increase of 3.7 percent. Japan also produced 8.8 million tons, up 0.9 percent. South Korea’s crude steel production was 6.1 million tons in August, unchanged from its August 2017 production. Turkey’s production for August totaled 3.0 million tons, down by 5.7 percent.

In the EU, Spain produced 1.2 million tons, up by 6.6 percent. Italy produced 1.2 million tons, up by 6.0 percent, and France’s crude steel production for the month decreased by 16.8 percent to 900,000 tons, reported WSA.

Tim Triplett

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