Global steel production increased by 3.7% y/y in 2021

26th January 2022 By: Schalk Burger - Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reached 1.95-billion tonnes in 2021 – a 3.7% year-on-year increase.

China produced 1.03-billion tonnes – a 3% year-on-year decline.

India's production increased by 17.8% year-on-year to 118.1-million tonnes, while Japan's production increased by 14.9% year-on-year to 96.3-million tonnes.

The US produced 86-million tonnes of steel for the full year, up 18.3% year-on-year.

Russia's production is estimated at 76-million tonnes – a 6.1% year-on-year increase, while South Korea produced 70.6-million tonnes – a 5.2% year-on-year increase.

Turkey produced 40.4-million tonnes – a 12.7% year-on-year increase, while Germany's production increased by 12.3% year-on-year to 40.1-million tonnes.

Brazil is estimated to have produced 36-million tonnes between January and December 2021, while Iran is estimated to have produced 28.5-million tonnes of steel.

South Africa, ranked thirty-second out of the 64 steel-producing countries, produced five-million tonnes of crude steel during 2021 – a 29.5% increase on the 3.9-million tonnes produced during 2020.