Global crude steel production in January this year increased by 0.8 percent year on year to 139.4 million metric tons, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel). In the given month, the average capacity utilization of steel mills across the globe was 70 percent, down 0.2 percentage points compared to January 2017 and up 0.7 percentage points compared to December.
In January, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 95.05 million mt, up 0.3 percent, with 67 million mt produced by China, down 0.85 percent, 9.03 million mt produced by Japan, up by 0.3 percent, 9.03 million mt produced by India, up 2.5 percent, and 6.12 million mt produced by South Korea, increasing by 2.7 percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 14.4 million mt of crude steel in the given month, up 1.4 percent year on year. In the given period, Germany's output was 3.7 million mt, rising by 1.45 percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 2.02 million mt, up 5.3 percent year on year, and Spain’s crude steel output amounted to 1.17 million mt, falling by one percent year on year.
Turkey produced 3.17 million metric tons of crude steel in January, with a 7.6 percent increase from January 2017. Iran's crude steel production in the month in question amounted to 1.98 million mt, up 25.9 percent year on year. The CIS registered a crude steel output of 8.5 million mt in January, down 1.4 percent on year-on-year basis, with Russia producing 5.7 million mt, falling by 3.9 percent, and Ukraine producing 2.1 million mt, down 0.14 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in January, crude steel output totaled 9.64 million mt, down by 2.1 percent, with the US producing 6.82 million mt, falling by 2.2 percent, and Mexico producing 1.62 million mt, down 3.45 percent, all on year-on-year basis. Crude steel output in South America in January amounted to 3.6 million mt, up 3.23 percent from January of the previous year, with Brazil's output totaling 2.87 million mt, increasing 1.34 percent year on year.