The Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) has calculated that crude steel production for the 66 countries that report to it has fallen 3.2 percent compared to September 2007 figures.
The group (formerly known as the International Iron and Steel Institute or IISI) says total production in September of 2008 was 108.4 million metric tons, creating a year-to-date total of
1.036 billion metric tons. The year-to-date figure represents a 4.6 percent increase compared to the first three quarters of 2007.
The September 2008 figure means the world crude steel production moving annual total (MAT) growth rate slowed to 4.7 percent, compared to 5.6 percent last month.
China led the decline in steelmaking. Its crude steel production for September 2008 was 39.6 million metric tons, a decrease of 9.1 percent compared to September 2007.
Overall, Asia produced 60.4 million metric tons of crude steel in September 2008 compared to 63.7 million in September 2007, a 5.1 percent decrease in production. An exception was South Korea, which showed a 12.7 percent increase in September by producing 4.6 million metric tons of crude steel.
Total crude steel production in North America was 10.9 million metric tons this September, roughly equivalent to September 2007. The North America moving average growth rate rose, however, to 6.4 percent from 6.1 percent in August.
In September 2008, the EU produced 17.4 million metric tons of steel, an increase of 0.9 percent compared to last year. Germany produced slightly less steel while Italy showed an increase of 2.4 percent compared to its total from September of last year.
Russia kept churning out steel in September, producing 6.1 million metric tons, 7 percent more than in September 2007. Likewise, Brazil produced 3 million metric tons in September, an increase of 5 percent compared to the same month in 2007.