Global steel production up a tad in October
Global crude steel production increased by 0.6 per cent in October 2023 to 150 million tonnes (mt), against 149.1 mt in the corresponding period a year ago. For the January-October period, production in the 71 nations that account for 85 per cent of world steel output was pegged at 1,567.3 mt, up 0.2 per cent.
According to the World Steel Association, top producer China’s output stood at 79.1 mt in October, down 1.8 per cent from the year-ago period. For the January-October period, China’s output was 1.4 per cent higher at 874.7 mt.
India reported a huge 15.1 per cent rise in production at 12.1 mt. Overall, for the January-October period, India’s steel output increased by 12.1 per cent at 116.3 mt.
Russia output surges
Russia’s production soared by 9.5 per cent to 6.3 mt. While output in the US increased by 3.4 per cent at 6.8 mt, Japan’s output went up by by 2.6 per cent at 7.5 mt. South Korea and Turkiye reported production hike of 6.5 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively, at 5.5 mt and 3 mt year-on-year. The steel output in Iran too went up by 3.5 per cent at 3.1 mt.
Steel production in Germany and Brazil tumbled by 8.8 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively, to end at 2.9 mt and 2.6 mt.
Region-wise, Africa and Asia-Oceania saw their output go up by 3.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively. The EU bloc’s production saw their output taking a plunge of 7.1 per cent while Europe (Others) had a slight drop in production by 0.2 per cent. The Middle-East region’s production went up by 5 per cent while North America’s output remained flat. South America’s steel production nose-dived 8.7 per cent compared with October 2022 figures.