African Crude Steel Production Surged 5.7% in March

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The crude steel production by African region recorded notable increase during the month of March this year. The cumulative output during the initial three-month period of the year too was up considerably when matched with the previous year.

According to recent crude steel production statistics published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), the African region recorded total monthly production of 1.296 million tonnes (Mt) in March this year. This is considerably higher by 5.7% when compared with the previous year. The African crude steel output had totaled only 1.226 Mt in March 2018.

Egypt, the largest regional steel producer reported increased output during the month. The Egyptian crude steel output totaled around 706,000 tonnes, accounting for more than 54% of the total regional output. The country’s output surged higher by 5.7% over the previous year. Egypt’s production had totaled 668,000 tonnes in March last year.

South Africa, with a monthly output of 544,000 tonnes, continued to be the second largest steel producing country in the region. Meantime, Libyan output totaled 46,000 tonnes. The output by South Africa and Libya were up by 3.1% and 52.2% respectively, over the previous year.

The cumulative output by the African region during the first three months of the year totaled 3.831 Mt, higher by 5.3% when compared with the output of 3.638 Mt during the corresponding three-month period in 2018. The leading producers were Egypt (2.115 Mt), South Africa (1.593 Mt) and Libya (123,000 tonnes). The steel production increase in Egypt was partially offset by declines in South Africa and Libya.