By Paul Ploumis 23 Jun 2015 Last updated at 02:31:47 GMT

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): According to the recent data published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by North American countries edged lower by 6.7% during the month of May year-on-year. The production totaled 9.545 Mt in May this year as against 10.225 Mt recorded in May ’14.

The total crude steel production by Canada during May this year was 1.155 Mt, considerably higher than the May 2014 production of 1.067 Mt by 8.3%. The US produced 6.837 Million tonnes of crude steel, significantly lower by 8.5% when compared to 7.471 Million tonnes production achieved during May 2014. The total crude steel production by Mexico dropped 7.9% from 1.580 Mt in May ‘14 to 1.455 Mt in May this year.

The Cuban crude steel production rebounded sharply by 35.3% year-on-year to 30,000 tonnes. The crude steel output by El Salvador was estimated at 10,000 tonnes in May this year, up nearly 9.0% when compared with 9,000 tonnes a year before. Guatemala produced 30,000 tonnes in May, more or less similar to the production during the same month a year before. The crude steel output by Trinidad & Tobago plunged by over 40% in May this year to 28,000 tonnes from 46,000 tonnes during same month the previous year.

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output for the first five months in 2015 in comparison with those during same period in 2014.

Note: Output in thousands of tonnes