Global steel production dips in September

The World Steel Association (Worldsteel) has reported that September 2014 crude steel production for the 65 reporting countries stands at 134 million metric tons, a decrease of 0.1 percent from production figures reported for the same time last year.

Worldsteel is a Brussels-based organization that tracks trends and issues for the global steel industry.

China, the largest steel producer in the world, reported September crude steel production of 67.5 million metric tons, essentially unchanged from September 2013’s figures. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.2 million metric tons of crude steel in September 2014, a decrease of 0.5 percent compared with the same time last year.

Other strategic steel producers in Asia include India, which produced 6.8 million metric tons of crude steel in September, a 2.5 percent increase from the same month in 2013; and South Korea, which produced 5.7 million metric tons of crude steel in September 2014, up 10.1 percent from September 2013.

In the European Union, Germany produced 3.5 million metric tons of crude steel in September 2014, a decrease of 3 percent from the same time last year. Other larger European steel producers reported mixed numbers. Italy produced 2.2 million metric tons of crude steel for September, a 0.7 percent increase from September 2013; France’s crude steel production declined by 0.5 percent to 1.4 million metric tons from September 2013; and Spain produced 1.2 million metric tons of crude steel, down 12.8 percent compared withSeptember 2013.

Turkey’s crude steel production for September 2014 was 2.9 million metric tons, down 3.1 percent from its steel production figures for September 2013.

In the Americas, the United States produced 7.3 million metric tons of crude steel in September 2014, a decrease of 0.1 percent compared with September 2013.

Brazil’s crude steel production for September 2014 was 2.9 million metric tons, down by 3.8 percent from September 2013.

While the production figure for September is down modestly, Worldsteel notes that crude steel production over the first nine months of the year is more promising. For 2014, crude steel production stands at around 1.231 billion tons, a 2.1 percent increase from 2013’s nine-month totals.

On a regional basis, Asia, which produces more steel than any other region, saw production increase by 2.5 percent over the first nine months of the year to 834 million tons. Other regions showing improvements between the two years are the European Union, which increased by 2.9 percent between the two years; North America, which increased production by 2.3 percent; the Middle East, which increased production by 7.6 percent; Africa, increasing crude steel production by 3.7 percent; and other European countries (including Turkey), increasing production by 1.3 percent over the first nine months of the year.

On the downside, regions of the world that saw production decrease include CIS countries, which saw steel production dip by 1.6 percent; and South America, which saw crude steel production decline by 2.6 percent.

The crude steel capacity utilization ratio for the 65 countries in September 2014 was 76.1 percent, a 2.6 percent drop from last September. However, Worldsteel reports that the utilization rate is 1.9 percentage points higher than the previous month.