Global crude steel production for the first quarter of this year increased by 4.5% year-on-year to 444.1-million tonnes, global industry body, the World Steel Association (worldsteel), said in a statement on Monday.

Asia produced 312.9-million tonnes of crude steel during the first three months of the year, an increase of 7% over the first quarter of 2018.

The European Union produced 42.3-million tonnes of crude steel, a 2% year-on-year decrease.

North America’s crude steel production in the first three months increased by 4% year-on-year to 30.7-million tonnes.

South Africa’s steel production decreased by 0.1% to 1.59-million tonnes in the first quarter, while Egypt’s steel production increased by 10.3% to 2.1-million tonnes.

Meanwhile, crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to worldsteel reached 155-million tonnes in the month of March, a 4.9% increase compared with that of March 2018.

South Africa produced an estimated 540 000 t of steel during March, an increase of 3.1% compared with March 2018, while Egypt’s crude steel production during March was 700 000 t, a 5.7% year-on-year increase.

China’s crude steel production for March was 80.3-million tonnes, an increase of 10% compared with March 2018, while India produced 9.4-million tonnes of crude steel in March, down 1% on March 2018.

Japan produced 9.1-million tonnes of crude steel in March, unchanged from what it produced in March 2018. South Korea’s crude steel production for March reached 6.3-million tonnes, up 2.8% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Italy’s crude steel production for March 2019 was 2.3-million tonnes, down by 0.3% year-on-year, while France produced 1.4-million tonnes of crude steel, an increase of 2.3% year-on-year. Spain also produced 1.4-million tonnes of crude steel in March, an increase of 5.9% year-on-year.

The US produced 7.8-million tonnes of crude steel in March, a 5.7% year-on-year increase.

Crude steel production in Ukraine reached two-million tonnes, up 15% year-on-year.

Brazil’s crude steel production for March was 2.8-million tonnes, down by 8.6%, while Turkey’s crude steel production decreased by 11.7% year-on-year to three-million tonnes.