Global crude steel production in December last year increased by 2.9 percent month on month and rose by four percent year on year to 152.12 million metric tons, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel). In 2019, global crude steel production increased to 1.87 billion mt, up by 3.4 percent year on year.
In 2019, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 1.34 billion mt, rising by 5.7 percent, with 996.3 million mt produced by China, up 8.3 percent, 99.3 million mt produced by Japan, decreasing by 4.8 percent, 111.2 million mt produced by India, rising by 1.8 percent, and 71.4 million mt produced by South Korea, falling by 1.4 percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 159.43 million mt of crude steel in 2019, down by 4.9 percent year on year. In the given period, Germany's output was 39.67 million mt, falling by 6.5 percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 23.24 million mt, down by 5.2 percent year on year, and France's crude steel output amounted to 14.45 million mt, down by 6.1 percent year on year.
Turkey produced 33.74 million metric tons of crude steel in 2019, with a 9.6 percent decrease from the previous year. Iran's crude steel production in 2019 amounted to 31.9 million mt, up by 30.1 percent year on year. The CIS registered a crude steel output of 100.17 million mt, decreasing by 0.6 percent on year-on-year basis, with Russia producing 71.57 million mt, down by 0.8 percent, and Ukraine producing 20.85 million mt, declining by 1.2 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in 2019, crude steel output totaled 119.96 million mt, falling by 0.8 percent, with the US producing 87.93 million mt, rising by 1.5 percent, and Mexico producing 18.59 million mt, down by eight percent, all on year-on-year basis. Crude steel output in South America in 2019 amounted to 41.16 million mt, decreasing by 8.4 percent from 2018, with Brazil's output totaling 32.24 million mt, declining by nine percent year on year.