2018 global crude steel production increases

Production increases by 4.6 percent relative to 2017, with India becoming the world’s second largest producer.

Dreamstime

Dreamstime

Global crude steel production reached 1,808.6 million metric tons in 2018, an increase of 4.6 percent compared with production in 2017, according to figures reported by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel), Brussels. The organization says the European Union was the only area to post a reduction in steel production, falling 0.3 percent compared with 2017.

China’s share of global crude steel production increased to 51.3 percent in 2018 from 50.3 percent in 2017. The country’s production reached 928.3 million metric tons for the year, growing by 6.6 percent relative to 2017’s production figure, Worldsteel reports.

The Asia region produced 1,271.1 million metric tons of steel in 2018, an increase of 5.6 percent compared with 2017. India’s crude steel production for 2018 was 106.5 million metric tons, 4.9 percent more than in 2017. Worldsteel says India has replaced Japan as the world’s second largest steel producing country as a result. Japan produced 104.3 million metric tons in 2018, 0.3 percent less than in 2017. South Korea produced 72.5 million metric tons of crude steel in 2018, an increase of 2 percent compared with 2017.

The European Union produced 168.1 million metric tons of crude steel in 2018, according to Worldsteel, a decrease of 0.3 percent compared with 2017. Italy was the only country in the EU to post a production gain. The country produced 24.5 million metric tons of crude steel in 2018, growing 1.7 percent compared with 2017. Germany produced an estimated 2 percent less crude steel for the year compared with 2017 at 42.4 million metric tons. France produced 15.4 metric tons of crude steel, a decrease of 0.7 percent from 2017, while Spain produced 14.3 million metric tons, 0.1 percent less than the country made in 2017.

Crude steel production in North America was 120.5 million metric tons in 2018, an increase of 4.1 percent from 2017’s production. Worldsteel says the U.S. accounted for 86.7 million tons of that production, which was 6.2 percent more than it made in 2017.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) produced 101.3 million metric tons, or 0.3 percent more than in 2017. Worldsteel estimates Russia contributed 71.7 million tons to that total in 2018, 0.3 percent more than in 2017. Ukraine, on the other hand, saw its production decline by 1.1 percent to 21.1 million metric tons.

Worldsteel says annual crude steel production for South America was 44.3 million metric tons in 2018, an increase of 1.3 percent compared with 2017. Brazil produced 34.7 million metric tons for the year, which was 1.1 percent more than in 2017.

The Middle East produced 38.5 million metric tons in 2018, an increase of 11.7 percent relative to 2017. Iran produced an estimated 25 million metric tons, Worldsteel says, 17.7 percent more than in 2017.

The organization says Turkey’s crude steel production for 2018 was 37.3 million metric tons, 0.6 percent less than in 2017.