Global pig iron output in September this year indicated a return to the production levels of the beginning of the economic downturn, increasing by 4.38 percent compared to September 2008.
According to the data released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), formerly the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), world pig iron production for the countries surveyed was 79.81 million metric tons in September, increasing by 4.38 percent year on year, and down 1.21 percent compared to August.
Meanwhile, global direct reduced iron (DRI) production in September totaled 4.32 million metric tons, increasing by 5.85 percent compared to August and down by 15.22 percent year on year. Worldsteel data show that India is the largest DRI producer among the countries surveyed, with a DRI output of 1.7 million metric tons in September, followed by Iran and Saudi Arabia, with outputs of 630,000 mt and 453,000 mt respectively.