Global crude steel production in October this year increased by 5.9 percent year on year to 145.2 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 73 percent, up three percentage points compared to October 2016 and down 0.6 percentage points compared to September.
In the first ten months of this year, global crude steel production increased to 1.41 billion mt, up 5.6 percent year on year.
In October this year, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 99.8 million mt, up 5.7 percent, with 72.36 million mt produced by China, up 6.1 percent, 8.97 million mt produced by Japan, decreasing by one percent, 8.63 million mt produced by India, up 5.3 percent, and 6.2 million mt produced by South Korea, rising by four percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 14.74 million mt of crude steel in October, up 3.4 percent year on year. In October, Germany's output was 3.6 million mt, rising by 2.7 percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 2.27 million mt, up 6.1 percent year on year, and France's crude steel output amounted to 1.35 million mt, up 1.6 percent year on year.
Turkey produced 3.3 million metric tons of crude steel in October, with an 11.1 percent increase from October last year. Iran's crude steel production in October amounted to 1.98 million mt, up 24.2 percent year on year. The CIS registered a crude steel output of 8.87 million mt in October, rising 3.6 percent on year-on-year basis, with Russia producing 6.2 million mt, increasing by five percent, and Ukraine producing 1.91 million mt, down 4.7 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in October, crude steel output totaled 9.76 million mt, increasing 9.3 percent, with the US producing 6.97 million mt, rising by 12 percent, and Mexico producing 1.65 million mt, down 2.6 percent, all on year-on-year basis. Crude steel output in South America in October amounted to 3.8 million mt, up 2.6 percent from October last year, with Brazil's output totaling 3.04 million mt, increasing 3.9 percent year on year.