Global BFI output rebounded and closed 2.6% higher in August

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): The monthly statistics released by the World Steel Association indicate that blast furnace iron production by world countries increased by 2.6% during August this year. The production totaled 99.877 million tonnes (Mt) during the month, as compared with the production of 97.345 Mt during July this year. The cumulative BFI output during the initial eight months of the current year totaled 776.114 Mt. It must be noted that the above information is based on the output recorded by 39 countries, which accounted for 99% of the world BFI production during the entire year 2015.

The BFI output by the Asian region totaled 76.073 Mt during the month, accounting for over 78% of the total world output. The output during the month increased when matched with the output of 75.535 Mt during July ’16. The leading Asian BFI producers during August this year were China (60.190 Mt), Japan (7.006 Mt), India (5.341 Mt) and South Korea (4.220 Mt). The cumulative production by Asian region totaled 604.984 Mt during the initial eight-month period of the current year.

The 28 countries of the European Union recorded an output of 7.708 Mt during August this year, up marginally when matched with the output of 7.622 Mt output reported during the prior month. The top producers of the region were Germany (2.315 Mt), France (835,000 tonnes), the Netherlands (566,000 tonnes) and Italy (530,000 tonnes). The eight-month cumulative BFI production by the EU-28 countries totaled 61.488 Mt. Other European countries including Boznia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey reported monthly and cumulative output of 1.058 Mt and 8.093 Mt respectively.

The CIS region reported BFI production totaling 6.875 Mt during the month. The output remained more or less flat when matched with the previous month output of 6.873 Mt. The leading BFI producer during the month was Russia with 4.480 Mt. The other key producers were Ukraine (2.080 Mt) and Kazakhstan (315,000 tonnes). The Jan-Aug ’16 production by the CIS region totaled 53.312 Mt.

The North American BFI output dropped marginally from 2.876 Mt in July ’16 to 2.830 Mt in August ’16. The output by the US totaled 1.840 Mt, constituting over 65% of the total production by the region. The US production has dropped slightly by more than 2.5% from 1.888 Mt in July to 1.840 Mt in August. The other key BFI producing nations were Canada (570,000 tonnes) and Mexico (420,000 tonnes). The regional output during Jan-August ’16 totaled 22.636 Mt. The cumulative output by the US during the first eight months of the year totaled 15.413 Mt. The output by Canada and Mexico totaled 4.339 Mt and 2.883 Mt respectively.

Meantime, the blast furnace iron production by South America went higher marginally over the previous month to total 2.457 Mt in Aug ‘16. Among the countries in the region, Brazil produced 2.189 Mt during the month. The output by Brazil had totaled 2.153 Mt during the month prior to this. The other key BFI producers during the month were Argentina (183,000 tonnes), Chile (60,000 tonnes), Colombia (20,000 tonnes) and Paraguay (5,000 tonnes). The South American output during the first eight months of the year 2016 totaled 18.481 Mt.

Oceania region reported lower BFI production during August this year. The production totaled 366,000 tonnes, declining marginally when compared with the production of 385,000 tonnes during July this year. The output by Australia recorded marginal decline from 328,000 tonnes in July to 304,000 tonnes in August. On the other hand, New Zealand’s output increased from 57,000 tonnes to 63,000 tonnes over the previous month. The cumulative output during the initial eight-month period of the year by the region totaled 2.798 Mt.