Global crude steel production increased by 0.8% year-on-year to 125-million tons in January, the World Steel Association revealed on Wednesday.
China’s crude steel output for January amounted to 59.3-million tons, up 4.6% compared with January 2012.
Japan produced 8.9-million tons of crude steel in January, an increase of 2.7% compared with the same month last year. South Korea’s crude steel production, however, fell by 0.4% year-on-year to 5.8-million tons.
In the EU, Germany produced 3.6-million tons of crude steel, 5.4% higher than January 2012 output, while Italy’s crude steel output fell 19.7% year-on-year to 1.8-million tons.
France’s crude steel production was 1.4-million tons, 1.3% lower than in January 2012, while Spain experienced a 2.5% year-on-year decline in output to 1.1-million tons.
Meanwhile, Russia produced 5.7-million tons of crude steel, a decrease of 5.7% compared with the same month last year.
US steel production also fell by 5.8% year-on-year to 7.3-million tons.