November 2015 crude steel production declines

World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) was 127 million metric tons in November 2015, a 4.1 percent decrease compared with November 2014.

The United States saw the largest decline in production relative to November 2014. The country’s steel producers made 6.1 million metric tons of crude steel in November 2015, a decrease of 15.6 percent compared with November 2014, Worldsteel reports.

In the EU, France also posted a double-digit decline in production relative to November 2014. The country’s production for November 2015 was 1.2 million metric tons, a decrease of 14.7 percent compared with November 2014.

Other EU countries did not far quire so badly, with Italy posting a slight increase of 0.4 percent, in fact, according to Worldsteel data, at 1.9 million metric tons. Germany produced 3.5 million metric tons of crude steel in November 2015, a decrease of 3.1 percent compared with November 2014. Spain produced 1.2 million metric tons of crude steel in November 2015, decreasing 2.9 percent compared with November 2014.

Worldsteel reports that China’s crude steel production for November 2015 was 63.3 million metric tons, a decrease of 1.6 percent compared with November 2014, while Japan produced 8.7 million metric tons of crude steel in November 2015, a decrease of 4.7 percent relative to the same month in 2014.

Turkey’s crude steel production for November 2015 was 2.6 million metric tons, decreasing 7.2 percent relative to production in November 2014.

In November 2015, Russia produced 5.7 million metric tons of crude steel, 3.1 percent less than it produced in November 2014. Ukraine produced 1.9 million metric tons of crude steel, 3.1 percent more than it produced in the same month in 2014.

Brazil’s crude steel production for November 2015 was 2.5 million metric tons, a decrease of 4.4 percent relative to November 2014.

The crude steel capacity utilization ratio for the 66 countries in November 2015 was 66.9 percent. This is 4 percentage points lower than November 2014, Worldsteel reports. Compared with October 2015, it is 1.4 percentage points lower.