Global crude steel production increases 4.1% y/y in April

25th May 2018 By: Simone Liedtke - Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

Global crude steel production, as reported by the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association, was 148.3-million tonnes – a 4.1% increase compared with April 2017.

China’s crude steel production for April was 76.7-million tonnes, an increase of 4.8% compared with April 2017.

Japan produced 8.7-million tonnes of crude steel in April, down 0.4% year-on-year, while India produced 8.7-million tonnes of crude steel, a 5.6% year-on-year increase.

South Korea also boasted an increase of 7.1% year-on-year to 5.9-million tonnes of crude steel.

In the European Union, Italy produced 2.1-million tonnes of crude steel, up by 3.7% on that of April 2017.

France achieved the highest increase at 10.7%, with output at 1.4-million tonnes in April.

Spain produced 1.3-million tonnes of crude steel, a 7.5% year-on-year increase, while Turkey’s crude steel production for April was three-million tonnes, down by 3.1% year-on-year.

Crude steel production in Ukraine was 1.7-million tonnes, up 6% compared with that of April 2017.

The US produced 6.9-million tonnes of crude steel in April, an increase of 3.6% year-on-year.

Brazil’s crude steel production for April was three-million tonnes, up by 1.9% on that of April 2017.

The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio of the 64 countries in April was 76.9%, 2.4 percentage points higher than April 2017.

It is also 2.4 percentage points higher than in March.