According to the World Steel Association (worldsteel), in September this year the crude steel output of 64 countries surveyed across the globe reached 123.6 million mt, increasing by 10 percent on year-on-year basis. Total global crude steel production decreased 0.5 percent on month-on-month basis, from the 124.2 million mt recorded in August. Total global crude steel output in the first nine months of the year was 1.14 billion mt, up by 8.6 percent year on year.
In September, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 78.81 million mt, up by 14 percent, with 56.7 million mt produced by China, up by 18.3 percent, 8.9 million mt produced by Japan, down by 3.8 percent, and 5.5 million mt produced by South Korea, up by 17.7 percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-27 countries produced 15 million mt of crude steel in September, up 4.4 percent comparing with September 2010. Germany's output was 3.7 million mt, up by 10.3 percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 2.6 million mt, up 9.7 percent year on year, and Spain's crude steel output was 1.4 million mt, up 0.8 percent year on year.
Turkey produced 3 million metric tons of crude steel in September this year, with a 20 percent increase over the same month in 2010, while Iran's crude steel output improved by 1.4 percent year on year, reaching an estimated figure of 1.05 million metric tons.
The CIS registered a crude steel output of 9.3 million mt in September, up 0.4 percent year on year, with Russia producing an estimated figure of 5.76 million mt, down by 0.1 percent, and Ukraine producing an estimated 2.78 million mt, down 0.7 percent on year-on-year basis.
In North America in September, crude steel output reached 10 million mt, up 6.4 percent year on year, with the US producing 7.2 million mt and Mexico producing 1.6 million mt, up 8.9 percent and 14.2 percent respectively on year-on-year basis.
Meanwhile, crude steel output in South America in September reached 3.9 million mt, up by 5.7 percent year on year, with Brazil's output reaching 2.8 million mt, up by 3.8 percent year on year.
In the given month, the average capacity utilization of steel mills across the globe was 79.1 percent, up by 1.8 percentage points month on month, and also up 3.5 percentage points compared to the same month last year.