Turkey achieves world’s highest crude steel output growth in H1

Based on the World Steel Association (worldsteel) data, in June this year the crude steel output of 62 countries surveyed across the globe reached 127.9 million mt, decreasing by 0.1 percent on year-on-year basis and down 2.04 percent compared to May this year. Total global crude steel production in the first six months of the current year increased slightly by 0.9 percent compared to the same period of 2011, amounting to 766.8 million mt.
 
Despite the global slowdown, Turkey produced 2.9 million metric tons of crude steel in June this year, with a four percent increase over the same month in 2011, registering the third largest growth rate among the 15 main steel producing countries. In the first half of the current year, Turkey's crude steel output increased by 9.3 percent to 18 million mt, becoming the country with the largest growth rate in crude steel output worldwide.
 
In June, crude steel output in China amounted to 60.2 million mt, up by 0.6 percent, Japan produced 9.2 million mt of crude steel, up 3.5 percent year on year, while South Korea's crude steel output in June increased by 4.3 percent year on year to 5.9 million mt.
 
In the given month, among EU-27 countries, Germany produced 3.72 million mt of crude steel, down four percent compared with June 2011. Italy's crude steel output in June was 2.42 million mt, down 7.9 percent year on year, Spain's crude steel output was 1.27 million mt, down 8.8 percent year on year, and France's crude steel output was 1.34 million mt, down 2.1 percent year on year.
 
In the US, crude steel output reached 7.3 million mt, up 0.8 percent compared to June 2011, while Mexico produced 1.6 million mt of crude steel, up 7.9 percent year on year.
 
The top 10 crude steel producing countries in the first six months of 2012 are as follows:

Tonnages (x 1,000 mt)