Global crude steel production in December last year decreased by 1.7 percent month on month and rose by 4.2 percent year on year to 147.08 million metric tons, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel). In 2018, global crude steel production increased to 1.8 billion mt, up by 4.6 percent year on year.
In 2018, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 1.26 billion mt, rising by 5.6 percent, with 928.3 million mt produced by China, up 6.6 percent, 104.32 million mt produced by Japan, decreasing by 0.3 percent, 106.46 million mt produced by India, rising by 4.9 percent, and 72.46 million mt produced by South Korea, rising by two percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 168.07 million mt of crude steel in 2018, down by 0.3 percent year on year. In the given period, Germany's output was 42.44 million mt, falling by two percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 24.5 million mt, up by 1.7 percent year on year, and France's crude steel output amounted to 15.4 million mt, down by 0.7 percent year on year.
Turkey produced 37.31 million metric tons of crude steel in 2018, with a 0.6 percent decrease from the last year. Iran's crude steel production in 2018 amounted to 25 million mt, up by 17.7 percent year on year. The CIS registered a crude steel output of 101 million mt, rising by 0.3 on year-on-year basis, with Russia producing 71.7 million mt, up 0.3 percent, and Ukraine producing 21.1 million mt, down by 1.1 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in 2018, crude steel output totaled 120.5 million mt, increasing by 4.1 percent, with the US producing 86.7 million mt, rising by 6.2 percent, and Mexico producing 20.11 million mt, up by 0.9 percent, all on year-on-year basis. Crude steel output in South America in 2018 amounted to 44.27 million mt, rising by 1.32 percent from 2017, with Brazil's output totaling 34.73 million mt, rising by 1.06 percent year on year.