Posted on 25 May 2023
Over January-April, the total crude steel production among 63 countries under the monthly survey by the World Steel Association (WSA) edged down by 0.3% on year to reach 622.7 million tonnes, according to the association's latest release on May 23.
For April alone, the 63 countries' crude steel output posted a 2.4% on-year decline to 161.4 million tonnes, the WSA data show. The output also retreated by 3.1% from March result, Mysteel Global calculated based on the data.
China, the world's top steelmaking country, saw its crude steel output reach 92.6 million tonnes in April, down 3.2% from March and falling 1.5% from April last year, as domestic mills curtailed their production due to squeezed profit margins on producing and selling steel products and the lower-than-expected demand from end-users, as reported.
For the past four months however, China's crude steel output still grew 4.1% on year to 354.4 million tonnes, marking the highest on-year growth among the top 10 steelmaking countries worldwide, Mysteel Global notes.
India, the second-largest producer of crude steel in the world, recorded on-year gains for both April and the first four months, with production up 3.2% and 3% on year to 10.7 million tonnes and 43.9 million tonnes, respectively, according to the association.
As the world's third-largest steelmaking country, Japan churned out 7.2 million tonnes of crude steel last month, down 3.1% on year. And its cumulative output over January-April also slid 5.3% on year to 28.9 million tonnes. This was mainly due to the bleak demand at home and abroad, with orders for construction and manufacturing persisting sluggish.
Turkey, in ninth place among the top 10, posted double-digit on-year declines for both April and accumulative January-April crude steel production, down 20.6% and 21.3% on year, respectively, Mysteel Global noted from the WSA data.
Crude steel output of the world's top 10 steelmaking countries | ||||
Country | Apr 2023 | Jan-Apr 2023 | ||
(mln t) | Y-o-Y (%) | (mln t) | Y-o-Y (%) | |
Total 63 | 161.4 | -2.4 | 622.7 | -0.3 |
China | 92.6 | -1.5 | 354.4 | 4.1 |
India | 10.7 | 3.2 | 43.9 | 3.0 |
Japan | 7.2 | -3.1 | 28.9 | -5.3 |
U.S. | 6.6 | -5.3 | 26.1 | -4.1 |
Russia (e) | 6.4 | 1.9 | 25.1 | -0.6 |
South Korea | 5.7 | 3.0 | 22.4 | -0.4 |
Germany | 3.2 | -3.8 | 12.4 | -5.9 |
Brazil | 2.8 | -5.9 | 10.6 | -8.8 |
Turkey | 2.7 | -20.6 | 10.1 | -21.3 |
Iran | 3.1 | 5.9 | 9.7 | 0.1 |
(e): estimated, source: WSA
Source:Mysteel Global
