World crude steel output declined further in May

By Paul Ploumis 23 Jun 2015 Last updated at 02:16:13 GMT

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster): According to the most recent statistics published by the World Steel Association, the crude steel production by 65 member countries was 139.308 million tonnes (Mt) in May this year, down 2.1% upon comparison with production of 142.317 Mt during same month the previous year.

The total crude steel production by EU-28 countries during May this year was 15.086 Million tonnes (Mt), slightly up by 0.7% than the May 2014 production of 14.980 Mt. Other European countries produced 3.128 Million tonnes of crude steel, down 2.5% when compared to 3.208 Million tonnes production achieved during May 2014. The CIS countries’ crude steel production dropped by 7.6% from 9.730 Mt to 8.992 Mt. The total crude steel production by North America declined sharply by 6.7% from 10.225 Mt in May 2014 to 9.545 Mt in May this year.

The total crude steel production by South American region during May this year increased marginally by 0.6% to 3.829 Mt. African countries produced 1.143 Million tonnes of crude steel, 2.2% down when compared to 1.169 Million tonnes production achieved during May 2014. The total crude steel production by the Middle East countries during May this year was 2.506 Million tonnes(Mt), marginally higher by 0.6% when compared with the May 2014 output of 2.490 Mt. The Asian countries’ crude steel production dropped by 1.8% from 96.271 Mt to 94.551 Mt. The total crude steel production by Oceania region increased sharply by 21.4% from 0.437 Mt in May 2014 to 0.530 Mt in May this 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: The above outputs are in thousands of tonnes.