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Worldsteel: Pandemic Plunge in April Steel Production

May 30, 2020

Steel production worldwide plunged by 13 percent in April, compared with April 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on economies all over the globe. The World Steel Association estimates that crude steel production totaled just 137.1 million metric tons last month, though it advised that the April figures are estimates due to the ongoing difficulties presented by COVID-19.

China produced 85 million metric tons of crude steel in April, an increase of 0.2 percent, but nearly all other nations saw big declines. Among them was the United States, with 5 million tons of monthly production, down 32.5 percent from the same period last year.

Brazil produced 1.8 million tons of crude steel, down by 39.0 percent. Turkey’s production totaled 2.2 million tons, down by 26.3 percent. Production in the EU, at 10.7 million tons, was down 22.9 percent, among similar declines in most parts of the world.