Global crude steel production in August this year increased by 1.4 percent year on year to 134.96 million metric tons, while a 1.36 percent decline was observed on month-on-month basis, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel). In the given month, the average capacity utilization of steel mills across the globe was 74.2 percent, 1.4 percentage points lower compared to August 2013 and 1.2 percentage points lower compared to July of the current year.
In the meantime, total global crude steel production in the first eight months of this year rose 2.4 percent compared to the same period of 2013, amounting to 1.1 billion metric tons.
In August, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 92.51 million mt, up 1.7 percent, with 68.91 million mt produced by China, up one percent, 9.35 million mt produced by Japan, up 2.2 percent, 7.03 million mt produced by India, up 5.2 percent, and 5.29 million mt produced by South Korea, up eight percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 12.07 million mt of crude steel in August, up by 0.4 percent compared with August 2013. In August this year, Germany's output was 3.13 million mt, down one percent year on year, the UK's crude steel output was 1.12 million mt, up 11.7 percent year on year, and Spain's crude steel output amounted to 1.07 million mt, down 0.4 percent year on year.
Turkey produced 2.9 million metric tons of crude steel in August this year, with a 13.9 percent increase from the same month in 2013.
Iran's crude steel production in August this year amounted to 1.33 million mt, up 3.1 percent compared to August 2013.
The CIS registered a crude steel output of 8.55 million mt in August this year, down 6.5 percent year on year, with Russia producing 6.17 million mt, increasing 5.8 percent, and Ukraine producing 1.77 million mt, down 37 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in August, crude steel output totaled 10.51 million mt, up two percent year on year, with the US producing 7.68 million mt and Mexico producing 1.58 million mt, up 2.9 percent and decreasing by 4.5 percent, respectively, on year-on-year basis.
Meanwhile, crude steel output in South America in August amounted to 4.02 million mt, down 0.8 percent from August 2013, with Brazil's output totaling 2.95 million mt, down 1.4 percent year on year.