COVID-19 impact shows in March steel data

Steelmakers in Europe and Asia were at the forefront of a March 2020 cutback in crude steel output. The spread of COVID-19, the disease that results from the new coronavirus, and subsequent shutdown measures contributed to double-digit reductions in nations including Italy, Germany, India and Taiwan.

According to Brussels-based Worldsteel, global crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to it amounted to 147.1 million metric tons, a 6 percent decrease from the 156.5 million metric tons produced in March 2019.

Joining Italy, France, India and Taiwan in the reduced output category were two of the world’s other major steel producers: Japan and the United States. Output in Japan fell by 9.7 percent and in the U.S. by 6 percent.

In the People’s Republic of China, where COVID-19 first had a major impact and where GDP shrank by more than 6 percent in the first quarter, steel output in March fell by 1.7 percent compared with March 2019.

Worldsteel adds, “World crude steel production was 443 million metric tons in the first three months of 2020, down by 1.4 percent compared to the same period in 2019.”

According to the association, Asia’s first-quarter output dropped by just 0.3 percent compared with 2019, propped up largely by China increasing its output by 1.2 percent during the quarter. Meanwhile, production in the EU dropped by 10 percent compared with the same quarter of 2019, and it fell by 4 percent in North America.