In March this year, French crude steel production amounted to 1,425,900 metric tons, decreasing by 3.4 percent year on year and up 19.81 percent as compared to February this year, according to the data provided by the French Steel Federation (FFA). In February, crude steel production in France had decreased by 2.69 percent month on month.
In the given month, steel production in France using electric arc furnaces (EAF) rose 7.4 percent year on year, reaching 584,000 metric tons, up 32.13 percent month on month, while steel production with blast furnace (BF) technology totaled 841,900 metric tons, declining by 9.7 percent year on year and up 12.54 percent as compared to February.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2011, crude steel production in France stood at 3.84 million metric tons, increasing by 2.6 percent as compared with the corresponding period of 2010. In the period in question, production using EAFs increased by 11.1 percent, while BF steel production fell 2.1 percent, reaching 1,500,200 metric tons and 2,337,500 metric tons respectively, both compared to January-March 2010.
The FFA also noted that domestic crude steel production in March this year was 14.4 percent lower than in March 2008 and that crude steel production in the first three months of the year was 21.2 percent below the January-March 2008 production figures.