Economy

WSA: Global Steel Production Edges Up in October

Written by David Schollaert

November 23, 2021

Steelmakers around the world produced an estimated 145.7 million metric tons of crude steel in October, up 0.9% or 1.3 million tons from the prior month, reported the World Steel Association (worldsteel).

October’s growth marked the first month of expansion since May, a notable result, especially given a 3.0% production contraction in China, down 2.2 million tons during the month. Global steel production in October was down 10.6% compared to the same period a year ago.

Following record-breaking increases from March through May, global crude steel output had been trending down, driven by Chinese cutbacks. Despite the continued reduction in China, global output ex-China drove the month-on-month increase in October, worldsteel said.

Chinese steel production was down 28.0% in October since maxing out at 99.5 million tons in May. China has produced roughly half the world’s steel each year, expanding to as much as 57.8% this past May. Following five months of repeated decreases, however, Chinese production now accounts for 49.1% of worldwide production, edging below the halfway mark for the first time since March 2018.

All the top 10 global steel-producing countries – with the exception of China – reported increased output month on month in October. Iran reported the largest expansion, up 69.2% or 900,000 tons more than September, for a total of 2.2 million tons. They were followed by Germany, up 12.2% to 3.7 million tons, and Turkey, up 6.1% to 3.5 million tons. U.S. production grew by 2.7% in October, up 200,000 tons to a sum of 7.5 million tons versus the prior month, 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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