Global crude steel production in March this year increased by 12.9 percent month on month and increased by 4.9 percent year on year to 155 million metric tons, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel).
In the first quarter of this year, global crude steel production increased to 444.11 million mt, up 4.5 percent year on year.
In the first quarter, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 312.86 million mt, rising by seven percent, with 231.07 million mt produced by China, up 9.9 percent, 24.97 million mt produced by Japan, decreasing by 5.4 percent, 27.33 million mt produced by India, falling by 0.3 percent, and 18.10 million mt produced by South Korea, up by 1.6 percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 42.3 million mt of crude steel in the first quarter down by two percent year on year. In the given period, Germany's output was 10.45 million mt, falling by 3.6 percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 6.3 million mt, down by 2.1 percent year on year, and France's crude steel output amounted to 3.87 million mt, down by 2.7 percent year on year.
Turkey produced 8.2 million metric tons of crude steel in the first quarter, with a 14.5 percent decrease from the same month of last year. Iran's crude steel production in March amounted to 6.22 million mt, up by 7.1 percent year on year. The CIS registered a crude steel output of 24.3 million mt, falling by 2.7 on year-on-year basis, with Russia producing 16.8 million mt, down 5.3 percent, and Ukraine producing 5.5 million mt, rising by 4.6 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in the first quarter, crude steel output totaled 30.7 million mt, increasing by four percent, with the US producing 22.2 million mt, rising by 6.8 percent, and Mexico producing 5 million mt, down by 4.4 percent, all on year-on-year basis. Crude steel output in South America in the first quarter amounted to 10.5 million mt, falling by 4.1 percent from the first quarter of 2018, with Brazil's output totaling 8.4 million mt, declining by 2.8 percent year on year.