Economy
WSA: Global Steel Production Down for Third Straight Month in August
Written by David Schollaert
September 23, 2021
Steelmakers around the world produced an estimated 156.8 million metric tons of crude steel in August, down 3.0% or 4.9 million metric tons from the month prior, reported the World Steel Association (worldsteel). Cutbacks in China accounted for much of the decrease.
Global steel production in August was also down 1.4% compared to the same period a year ago. This was the third decrease in as many months following sequential record-breaking increases from March through May, worldsteel said.
Chinese steel production saw a monthly decline of 4.1% or 3.6 million metric tons in August, accounting for nearly 75% of the total 4.9-million-ton global decrease. Chinese production in August totaled an estimated 83.2 million metric tons. China produces roughly half the world’s steel each year.
Brazil and India, two of the top 10 global steel-producing countries, were the only ones to see increases over the prior month. Production in the United States, Korea, Turkey and Germany was unchanged, worldsteel reported.
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com
David Schollaert
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