Features

Global steel production recovered in January

February 23, 2024

Global steel output moved up in January, recovering from consecutive declines in November and December, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said in its latest monthly report.

Producers around the world produced 148.1 million metric tons (mt) of steel in January. This was 9.1% above 135.7 million mt produced the month before but a 1.6% year-on-year (y/y) decline, worldsteel said.

The m/m improvement was driven by a 14.5% increase in Chinese crude steel output, even though the rest of the world (RoW) also improved.

Regional breakdown

China, the world’s top steel producer, saw its m/m gain reach an output of 77.2 million mt in January. Despite the near 15% increase m/m, China’s production was down 2.9% y/y. January’s output was still its third-lowest production total in more than a year.

Meanwhile, steel output in RoW also improved vs. December, up 3.8% m/m and up 7.8% y/y to 70.9 million mt in January.

Regionally, the European Union saw the highest m/m gain in output, increasing by 12.1% to 10.2 million mt. Asia and Oceania’s production rose by 11.6%, followed by South America’s 6.3% gain, Africa’s 5.3% increase, and Russia, other CIS’s 1.4% rounded out regional gains.

North America’s steel output was down 1.1% m/m in January at 9.2 million mt, but up 1.1% vs. the year prior, according to worldsteel’s figures.

Regions with lower on-year production included Europe, Other (flat at 3.9 million mt), and the Middle East (-4.1% at 4.7 million mt).

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.