November global steel production exceeds last year’s monthly total

World crude steel production for the 71 countries reporting to the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) was 145.5 million metric tons this November, representing a 3.3 percent increase compared with November 2022.

Year to date, the approximately 1.715 billion tons of steel made through November shows a more modest 0.5 increase, pointing to a weakness in the global steelmaking environment late last year.

Compared with the prior month, steel output in the world’s largest steelmaking nation, China, fell by 3 million metric tons, or 3.8  percent, according to Worldsteel.

Several other of the top steelmaking nations joined China in experiencing in making less steel this November compared with the prior month. According to Worldsteel, the following nations demonstrated a month-to-month decline in production: the United States, down by 200,000 metric tons; Japan, down by 400,000 metric tons; India, down by 400,000 metric tons; and South Korea, down by 100,000 metric tons.

Turkey, the largest ferrous scrap importer in the world, held steady in its production in November. Along with a restrained supply situation in American scrap yards, Turkey’s consistency likely has been a factor in rising ferrous scrap prices in the U.S.

Several U.S.-based steelmakers, however, have warned of narrower profits and—in some cases—modest declines in demand for finished steel in this year’s fourth quarter.