Global steel production increases in July 2014

The World Steel Association (Worldsteel) has reported global crude steel production for the 65 countries that report to it as 137 million metric tons in July 2014, a 1.7 percent increase from July 2013.

China, the world’s largest producer of crude steel, reported July production of 68.3 million metric tons, a 1.5 percent increase from the same time last year. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.3 million metric tons of crude steel for the month, the same as July 2013; South Korea produced 5.9 million metric tons of crude steel for the month, up 6.2 percent from last July.

Turkey’s crude steel production for July 2014 was 2.8 million metric tons, a 1 percent increase from last July.

In the European Union, Germany produced 3.4 million metric tons of steel in July 2014, a 1.5 percent increase compared with July 2013; the United Kingdom produced 1 million metric tons of crude steel for the month, down 4.4 percent compared with July 2013; and the Netherlands produced 0.6 million metric tons of crude steel, down 0.5 percent compared with July 2013.

For the month, Russia produced 6.2 million metric tons of crude steel, up by 8.1 percent over July 2013. Ukraine produced 2.5 million metric tons of crude steel, a decrease of 11.7 percent compared with the same month in 2013.

In the United States, crude steel production reached 7.6 million metric tons in July, a 2.3 percent increase from the same time last year. Brazil’s crude steel production for July 2014 was 2.9 million metric tons, a 0.5 percent increase from July 2013.

Meanwhile, the average crude steel capacity utilization rate for the 65 countries in July 2014 was 75.4 percent, a 1.2 percent decline from last July. Compared to the previous month, the utilization rate was down sharply, by 2.9 percent.