World crude steel production surged higher by 4.6% in March

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): According to the most recent monthly production statistics published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), the crude steel output by 67 member countries totaled 144.953 million tonnes (Mt) in March this year, rising significantly by 4.6% in comparison with the production of 138.559 Mt during same month a year before.

South America

The crude steel production by South American countries increased considerably during the month of March this year. The total monthly output was up by 13.74% to 3.654 Million tonnes.

The total crude steel production by Argentina during March was 392,000 tonnes, up considerably by 23.5% in comparison with the March 2016 production of 318,000 tonnes. Brazil produced 2.850 Million tonnes of crude steel, higher by 13.7% when compared with 2.506 Million tonnes production achieved during March last year. Chile’s March crude steel production dropped by nearly 4.50% to 100,000 tonnes in March this year. The total crude steel production by Colombia edged higher by nearly 5% to 1200,000 tonnes in March this year.

Ecuador’s crude steel output increased significantly by nearly 10% on year-on-year basis. The crude steel output by Ecuador was 55,000 tonnes in March this year, as compared with 50,000 tonnes during March last year.  Paraguay’s crude steel output plunged heavily by over 44% during the month.

The crude steel output by Peru recorded marginal rise of around 5% year-on-year. The crude steel output of Uruguay nosedived by nearly 32% when compared with the year before levels. Venezuelan production rebounded sharply by 148.3% year-over-year from 10,000 tonnes to around 25,000 tonnes.

North America

The crude steel production by North American countries too surged higher by 9.2% during the month of March year-on-year. The production totaled 10.163 Mt during the month, as compared with 9.305 Mt during March 2016.

The total crude steel production by Canada during March this year was 1.275 Mt, higher by 13.7% when compared with the March 2016 production. The US produced 7.003 Million tonnes of crude steel, marginally higher by 3.4% when compared with 6.770 Million tonnes production achieved during March 2016. The total crude steel production by Mexico increased sharply by 35.7% from 1.349 Mt in March ‘16 to 1.830 Mt in March this year.

The Cuban crude steel production declined by 29.3% year-on-year to 20,000 tonnes. The crude steel output by El Salvador was estimated at 10,000 tonnes in March this year, higher by over 14% when compared with March last year. Guatemala produced 25,000 tonnes in March. The crude steel output by Trinidad & Tobago nosedived to zero.

Asia

The crude steel production by Asia surged higher by 3.4% during the month of March 2017 year-on-year.

The total crude steel production by China during March was 71.995 Million tonnes, marginally higher by 1.8% when compared with the production of 70.701 Mt during March 2016. India produced 9 Million tonnes of crude steel, higher by 8.2% when compared with 8.316 Million tonnes production achieved during March last year.

Japan reported marginal increase of 1.8% in monthly crude steel output. Japan's crude steel output edged higher from 8.726 Million tonnes in March 2016 to 8.885 Million tonnes in the same month this year.

South Korean crude steel production was up by 6.4% from 5.731 Million tonnes in March 2016 to 6.100 Million tonnes in March this year. Meantime, Pakistan’s crude steel output totaled 450,000 tonnes during the month.

The Taiwanese Mar ’17 crude steel output reported 5.1% year-on-year jump to 1.9 Million tonnes from 1.807 Million tonnes during same month last year. Also, Thailand’s crude steel output increased by 21.5% from 329,000 tonnes during March last year to almost 400,000 tonnes this year. Vietnam’s crude steel output skyrocketed by 126.8% over the previous year.

Africa

The crude steel production by the African region registered 14.5% jump during the month of March year-on-year.

Egypt produced 560,000 tonnes of crude steel, surging higher by 32.1% when compared to 424,000 tonnes production achieved during March 2016. Libya’s crude steel output edged higher to 49,000 tonnes during the month of March this year, when matched with the production of 43,000 tonnes during the same month a year before. Morocco’s output increased by over 20% to touch 50,000 tonnes. South Africa’s crude steel output increased marginally by 0.1% to 539,000 tonnes during the month when matched with the production figures of 538,000 tonnes during the same month a year before.

Other regions

The crude steel production by the Middle East region increased by 8.7% during the month of March ’17 year-on-year. EU-28 region recorded jump of 6.7% in crude steel output during March this year. The output by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) remained nearly unchanged during the month. Meantime, Oceania region recorded 1.5% decline in output.

Jan-Mar ’17 cumulative output

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output for the first three months of 2017 in comparison with those during same period in 2016.

Note: The above outputs are in thousands of tonnes.