World crude steel output declines further in May, Chinese output exceeds rest of the world

By Carolina Curiel (ScrapMonster Author)

June 22, 2016 10:04:11 AM

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): According to the most recent statistics published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by 66 member countries was 139.154 million tonnes (Mt) in May this year, down marginally by 0.1% upon comparison with production of 139.286 Mt during same month a year before.

South America

The crude steel production by South American countries dropped significantly during the month of May this year. The total monthly output tumbled by 13.7% to 3.302 Million tonnes.

The total crude steel production by Argentina during May was 379,000 tonnes, down considerably by 7.7% than the May 2015 production of 411,000 tonnes. Brazil produced 2.590 Million tonnes of crude steel, down considerably by 13.2% when compared with 2.983 Million tonnes production achieved during May last year. The Chilean May crude steel production witnessed decline of nearly 5.6% to 85,000 tonnes in May this year. The total crude steel production by Colombia was up by 3.4% to 105,000 tonnes in May this year.

Ecuador’s crude steel output dropped significantly by 10.2% on year-on-year basis. The crude steel output by Ecuador was 50,000 tonnes in May this year, down when compared with 56,000 tonnes during May last year.  Paraguay’s crude steel output declined sharply by 21.6% during the month.

The crude steel output by Peru dropped considerably by 26.1% year-on-year. The crude steel output of Uruguay too witnessed decline of 36.4% when compared with the year before levels. Venezuelan production dropped considerably by 76.6% year-on-year from 85,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes.

North America

The crude steel production by North American countries dropped marginally by 0.8% during the month of May year-on-year. The production totaled 9.590 Mt in May this year.

The total crude steel production by Canada during May this year was 1.140 Mt, significantly up by 6.5% when compared with the May 2015 production. The US produced 6.820 Million tonnes of crude steel, slightly lower by 0.4% when compared with 6.844 Million tonnes production achieved during May 2015. The total crude steel production by Mexico edged lower by 4.1% from 1.642 Mt in May ‘15 to 1.575 Mt in May this year.

The Cuban crude steel production decreased sharply by 15.8% year-on-year to 20,000 tonnes. The crude steel output by El Salvador was estimated at 10,000 tonnes in May this year, higher by 6% when compared with May last year. Guatemala produced 25,000 tonnes in May. The crude steel output by Trinidad & Tobago nosedived to zero in May this year from 46,000 tonnes during same month the previous year.

Asia

The crude steel production by Asia rose by 1.3% during the month of May 2016 year-on-year.

The total crude steel production by China during May was 70.504 Million tonnes, rising marginally by 1.8% when compared with the production of 69.253 Mt during May 2015. India produced 8.044 Million tonnes of crude steel, higher by 4.9% when compared with 7.670 Million tonnes production achieved during May last year.

Japan reported 0.9% drop in monthly crude steel output during the month. Japan's crude steel output was down from 8.923 Million tonnes in May 2015 to 8.841 Million tonnes in the same month this year.

South Korean crude steel production declined by 3.5% from 6.019 Million tonnes in May 2015 to 5.807 Million tonnes in May this year. Meantime, Pakistan’s crude steel output totaled 350,000 tonnes during the month.

The Taiwanese Apr ‘16 crude steel output has dropped considerably by 4.7% year-on-year to 1.810 Million tonnes from 1.899 Million tonnes during same month last year. Also, Thailand’s crude steel output has dropped sharply by 21.9% from 326,000 tonnes during May last year to almost 255,000 tonnes this year.

Africa

The crude steel production by the African region tumbled by 10.6% during the month of May year-on-year.

Egypt produced 386,000 tonnes of crude steel, considerably lower by 15.5% when compared to 457,000 tonnes production achieved during May 2015. Libya’s crude steel output dropped to 48,000 tonnes during the month of May this year, when matched with 49,000 tonnes produced during the same month a year before. Morocco’s output plunged by 42.6% to 30,000 tonnes, when compared to 52,000 tonnes production achieved during May 2015. South Africa’s crude steel output dropped by 4.5% to 560,000 tonnes during the month when matched with the production figures of 586,000 tonnes during the same month a year before.

Other regions

The crude steel production by the Middle East region declined slightly by 0.4% during the month of May ’16 year-on-year. EU-28 region recorded 5.5% decline in crude steel output during May this year. The output by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased marginally by 1.0% during the month. On the other hand, Oceania region recorded 17.9% decline in output.

Jan-May ’16 cumulative output

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output for the first five months in 2016 in comparison with those during same period in 2015.

Note: The above outputs are in thousands of tonnes.