Economy

WSA: Global Steel Production Sank Further in February

Written by David Schollaert

March 29, 2022

Global crude steel production was estimated at 142.7 million metric tons in February as steelmakers around the world cut output by 12.3 million metric tons, or 7.9%, from the prior month, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported.

Since reaching an all-time high of 174.4 million metric tons last May, global steel output has waned in seven of the last nine months, driven largely by Chinese cutbacks. Chinese steel production was down 6.7 million metric tons, or 8.2%, last month versus January. Output in the rest of the world also fell month on month in February by 7.6%, or  67.7 million metric tons, worldsteel said.

Steel production worldwide was down 7.6 million metric tons, or 5.0%, last month when compared to February 2021 and down 1.2%, or 1.7 million metric tons, when compared to the pre-pandemic period in February 2020.

GCSP Feb22

Chinese steel output accounted for 52.6% of worldwide production in February, a marginal 0.1 percentage point decline month-on-month.

Each of the top 10 global steel-producing countries saw production declines month-on-month in February. South Korea reported the largest percentage fall, declining 13.3%, or 800,000 tons less than January, for a total of 5.2 million tons. Second, was the US, down 12.3% or 900,000 tons monthly in February. Korea and the US were followed by Russia (-12.1%), China (-8.2%), and India (-6.5%), worldsteel reported.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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