January figures reveal sharp steel output decline

The Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) says crude steel production in the 66 countries that report to it was down 7.1 percent in January 2016 compared with January 2015.

The sluggish start to the new year for the steel sector was revealed by the 127.7 million metric tons of steel produced during January 2016, down more than 7 percent from the 137.5 million metric tons produced one year earlier.

Steelmakers in China, often cited as maintaining excess capacity by steel producers in other nations, played a role in the lower output, with the 63.2 million metric tons it produced in January 2016 being 7.8 percent lower than the 68.6 million metric tons in January 2015.

China was not alone in its reduced output, however, with other major steelmaking nations producing these year-on-year decreases: the United States, –8.8 percent; South Korea, –4.5; Japan, –2.8 percent; Germany, –2 percent; and India, –1.2 percent.

Among the nations countering the trend and increasing output in early 2016 were Turkey, growing 0.8 percent; Ukraine, growing 3.6 percent; and Belgium, growing 3.9 percent.