Global Steel Production Up 0.8 Percent in January
By
Metal Center News Staff on
Feb 28, 2018World crude steel production totaled 139.4 million metric tons in January, a 0.8 percent increase over January 2016, reports the Brussels-based World Steel Association.
The crude steel capacity utilization rate of the 64 countries reporting to WSA was 70 percent in January, 0.2 percentage points lower than January 2016. Compared with the previous month, the rate was 0.7 percentage points higher.
The U.S. produced 6.8 million tons of steel in the month, down 2.2 percent from last January.
Canadian production for the month was flat at 1.1 million tons, and Mexican production was down 3.5 percent at 1.6 million tons.
China’s crude steel production for January totaled 67 million tons, a decrease of 0.9 percent from January 2016. Japan produced 9 million tons for the month, an increase of 0.3 percent, while India’s production increased 2.5 percent to 9 million tons.
In the EU, Germany produced 3.7 million tons in January, an increase of 1.5 percent. Italy’s production of 2 million tons was up 5.3 percent, while France’s 1.4 million tons was up 3 percent over January 2016.