Global crude steel production in April this year remained stable month on month and increased by 4.1 percent year on year to 148.3 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 76.9 percent, up 2.4 percentage points compared to April 2017 and rising by 2.4 percentage points compared to March.
In the January-April period of this year, global crude steel production increased to 575.15 million mt, up four percent year on year.
In April this year, crude steel output in Asia amounted to 103.45 million mt, rising by 4.2 percent, with 76.69 million mt produced by China, up 4.8 percent, 8.72 million mt produced by Japan, decreasing by 0.4 percent, 8.69 million mt produced by India, increasing by 5.6 percent, and 5.89 million mt produced by South Korea, rising by 7.1 percent - with all comparisons on year-on-year basis.
EU-28 countries produced 14.87 million mt of crude steel in April, up 3.4 percent year on year. In April, Germany's output was 3.77 million mt, falling by 1.7 percent year on year, Italy's crude steel output was 2.06 million mt, up 3.7 percent year on year, and France's crude steel output amounted to 1.39 million mt, up 10.7 percent year on year.
Turkey produced three million metric tons of crude steel in April, with a 3.1 percent decrease from April last year. Iran's crude steel production in April amounted to 1.95 million mt, up 12.4 percent year on year. The CIS registered a crude steel output of 8.39 million mt in April, increasing by 2.4 percent on year-on-year basis, with Russia producing 6.03 million mt, rising by 2.4 percent, and Ukraine producing 1.72 million mt, up six percent, both on year-on-year basis.
In North America in April, crude steel output totaled ten million mt, increasing by 6.4 percent, with the US producing 6.93 million mt, rising by 3.6 percent, and Mexico producing 1.79 million mt, up 13.7 percent, all on year-on-year basis. Crude steel output in South America in April amounted to 3.82 million mt, up 4.2 percent from April last year, with Brazil's output totaling three million mt, increasing by 1.9 percent year on year.