America’s crude steel output records marginal increase in February

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): According to the recent data published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by South American countries increased marginally during the month of February this year. The total monthly output rose by 1.5% to total 3.209 Million tonnes (Mt). Meantime, the North American crude steel output remained essentially flat during the month.

The total crude steel production by Argentina during February was 305,000 tonnes, down considerably by 9.9% than the February 2015 production of 339,000 tonnes. Brazil produced 2.572 Million tonnes of crude steel, marginally up by 5.7% when compared to 2.433 Million tonnes production achieved during February last year. The output by Chile declined sharply by nearly 9.5% to 90,000 tonnes in February this year. Also, total crude steel production by Colombia dropped by 24.9% to 90,000 tonnes in February this year.

Ecuador’s crude steel output dropped significantly by nearly 7.4% on year-on-year basis. The crude steel output by Ecuador was 45,000 tonnes in February this year, down when compared with 49,000 tonnes during February last year.  Paraguay’s crude steel output tumbled by over 70% from 3,000 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes over the previous year.

The crude steel output by Peru fell considerably by 39.3% year-on-year. The crude steel output of Uruguay dropped significantly by nearly 86% when compared with the year before levels. On the other hand, Venezuelan production skyrocketed by nearly 130% year-on-year from 22,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes.

The following table provides cumulative crude steel output by the South American region for the initial two-month period of year 2017 in comparison with the corresponding two-months from January to February in 2016.

Note: Output in thousands of tonnes

Meantime, the crude steel production by North American countries remained more or less flat during the month of February year-on-year. The production totaled 8.969 Mt in February this year as against 8.972 Mt recorded in February ‘16.

The total crude steel production by Canada during February this year was 1.030 million tonnes, down marginally by 3.7% when compared with the February 2016 production. The US produced 6.362 Million tonnes of crude steel, slightly lower by nearly 1.0% when compared to 6.424 Million tonnes production achieved during February last year. The total crude steel production by Mexico edged higher by nearly 7% from 1.430 Mt in February ‘16 to 1.530 Mt in February this year.

The Cuban crude steel production increased sharply by 16% year-on-year to 15,000 tonnes. The crude steel output by El Salvador was estimated at 7,000 tonnes in February this year, down sharply when compared with February last year. Guatemala produced 25,000 tonnes in February, lower by 9.4% when matched with the production during the same month a year before. The crude steel output by Trinidad & Tobago nosedived to zero.

The following table provides the region’s cumulative crude steel output for the first two months of 2017 in comparison with those during the same period in 2016.

Note: Output in thousands of tonnes