According to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), Turkish crude steel output in December last year decreased by eight percent month on month and was down by 11.7 percent year on year to 2.9 million mt.
In the given month, Turkey's crude steel output by electric arc furnaces fell by 16.9 percent, while production by integrated plants increased by 0.2 percent, both year on year.
In 2018, Turkish crude steel output fell by 0.6 percent to 37.3 million mt, year on year. In the previous year, Turkish crude steel output had reached a record high of 37.5 million mt. According to the TCUD, despite the problems in the second half of 2018, it is remarkable that total crude steel output in 2018 did not fall very much below the record figures for 2017. Last year, Turkey's crude steel output by electric arc furnaces declined by 0.6 percent to 25.8 million mt, while production by integrated plants decreased by 0.4 percent to 11.5 million mt, both year on year.
In 2018, Turkey's billet output decreased by 4.5 percent to 24.7 million mt, while its slab output rose by 8.2 percent to 12.6 million mt, both on year-on-year basis.