World DRI Output Surged Nearly 3% in November

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The world direct reduced iron (DRI) production rose marginally during the month of November 2018, says the preliminary statistics published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel). Over the previous month, the production climbed higher by 2.7%. The monthly output totaled 6.697 million tonnes (Mt) in Nov ’18. The output had totaled only 6.885 Mt in October this year.

The leading producers of DRI in Nov ’18 were India, Iran and Egypt. However, all of the above three countries reported lower output upon comparison with the prior month. The Indian production totaled 2.245 Mt in Nov ’18, accounting for just over one-third of the total world production. The output by Iran totaled 2.050 Mt, falling from 2.115 Mt during the prior month. The Egyptian output at approximately 500,000 metric tons too declined over the prior month. The top three producers accounted for nearly 73% of the total world production.

The monthly output (in thousand tonnes) by other top nine DRI producing countries is: Canada (133), Saudi Arabia (425), Argentina (153), Venezuela (30), Mexico (485), Libya (72), South Africa (67), Qatar (186) and United Arab Emirates (352). The Canadian output surged higher significantly during the month. South Africa too reported notable jump in production. Venezuelan production held steady.

The combined DRI output during the first eleven months of the year totaled 76.145 Mt.