According to the preliminary data released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel), global direct reduced iron (DRI) production in the 12 countries accounting for approximately 83 percent of total world DRI production in 2012 totaled 5.1 million metric tons in March this year, increasing 9.7 percent as compared to the previous month and up by 6.4 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, world DRI output came to 14.5 million metric tons in the first quarter of this year, increasing approximately by 5.6 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2012. The year-on-year changes are approximate figures due to the different countries reporting between 2012 and 2013.
The worldsteel data show that India was again the largest DRI producer among the countries surveyed in the first quarter this year. India's estimated DRI output was 4.9 million metric tons in the given period, decreasing by 2.65 percent year on year. India was followed by Iran, Mexico and Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of this year, with estimated outputs of 3 million mt, 1.5 million mt and 1.26 million mt respectively. A 14 percent year-on year increase was recorded in Iran's DRI production in the first quarter, while Mexico's DRI output was up 33.5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2012.