World Crude Steel Output Declined 6% in March

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The crude steel production by 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 147.1 million tonnes (Mt) in March this year. This is significantly down by 6% when compared to March 2019.

Only Middle East and Other Europe region reported increased output over the previous year. The African and European countries reported substantial decline in output. The Americas too witnessed notable decline in output. The Asian steel production was down by 4%, worldsteel data said.

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The production decline was led by China, whose output registered nearly 2% year-on-year dip in production. The output by India took major hit, falling by almost 14%. The Japanese output too witnessed double-digit decline. The U.S. output dropped by 6%, whereas the Canadian steel output registered over 15% decline from March 2019 levels. The Russian output surged higher by 4%, whereas the Turkish production declined by the same rate.

The cumulative output by world countries totalled 443.030 Mt until March this year, down marginally by 1.4% from the year-ago period. The production had totalled 449.221 Mt in Jan-Mar ’19.

The Association noted that the crude steel production data for the month is based on estimates provided by national and regional associations, on account of difficulties presented by the pandemic. The figures may be revised in the upcoming month, it added.