China Led Asian Steel Output Rush in August

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The recent production data released by the World Steel Association (wordsteel) suggests notable increase in crude steel output by Asian countries during the month of August this year. The production growth by the region was led by China, whose output was up by 8.4% year-on-year.

The Asian region produced 120.208 million tonnes (Mt) of steel in August 2020, modestly higher by 4.8% when compared with the production during the same month a year before. The regional output had totalled only 114.653 Mt during August 2019.

The leading producer, China, accounted for over three-fourths of the total regional output during the month. The Chinese output totalled 94.845 Mt. The second largest steel producer in the region was India, followed by Japan. The Indian output totalled 8.478 Mt, whereas Japan’s output dropped sharply to 6.446 Mt.

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The August 2020 crude steel output by other countries in the region was as follows: South Korea (5.800 Mt), Taiwan (1.625 Mt), Vietnam (2.315 Mt), Pakistan (350,000 tonnes) and Thailand (350,000 tonnes).

The combined output by the region during the first eight months of the current year was down marginally by 0.7% year-on-year to total 882.922 Mt. The three leading producers during Jan-Aug ‘20 were China (688.889 Mt), India (61.111 Mt) and Japan (54.720 Mt).