Economy

WSA: Global Steel Production Down for Third Straight Month in August

Written by David Schollaert

September 23, 2021

Steelmakers around the world produced an estimated 156.8 million metric tons of crude steel in August, down 3.0% or 4.9 million metric tons from the month prior, reported the World Steel Association (worldsteel). Cutbacks in China accounted for much of the decrease.

Global steel production in August was also down 1.4% compared to the same period a year ago. This was the third decrease in as many months following sequential record-breaking increases from March through May, worldsteel said.

Chinese steel production saw a monthly decline of 4.1% or 3.6 million metric tons in August, accounting for nearly 75% of the total 4.9-million-ton global decrease. Chinese production in August totaled an estimated 83.2 million metric tons. China produces roughly half the world’s steel each year.

Brazil and India, two of the top 10 global steel-producing countries, were the only ones to see increases over the prior month. Production in the United States, Korea, Turkey and Germany was unchanged, worldsteel reported.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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