NEWS
Global steel production
on the up…
World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the
World Steel Association (worldsteel) was up to 139.4 million tonnes
(Mt) in January 2018, a 0.8% increase compared to January 2017.
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Globally, steel production has seen a significant rise; South Africa is no exception.
C
hina’s crude steel production for
January 2018 was 67Mt, a decrease
of 0.9% compared to January 2017.
Japan produced 9Mt of crude steel in
January 2018, up 0.3% on January 2017.
India produced 9Mt of crude steel in
January 2018, up 2.5% on January 2017.
In the EU, Italy’s crude steel production
for January 2018 was 2Mt, up by 5.3% on
January 2017. France produced 1.4Mt of
crude steel in January 2018, an increase of
3% compared to January 2017. Spain
produced 1.1Mt in January 2018, a decrease
of 1% on January 2017.
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APRIL 2018
RESIDENTIAL // COMMERCIAL // INDUSTRIAL
Turkey’s crude steel production for
January 2018 was 3.2Mt, up by 7.6%
on January 2017.
The US produced 6.8Mt of crude steel
in January 2018, a 2.2% decrease on
January 2017.
Brazil’s crude steel production for
January 2018 was 2.9Mt, up by 1.3% on
January 2017.
The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio
of the 64 countries in January 2018 was 70%.
This is 0.2 percentage points lower than
January 2017. Compared to December 2017,
it is 0.7% points higher.
Looking at South Africa
South African steel production rose by
2.6% in 2017 to an estimated 6.301Mt
after falling by 4.2% in 2016, according
to worldsteel.
After South African steel production
fell by 7.6% year-on-year in the first half
of 2015 to 3.2Mt, as the industry battled
with electricity-supply disruptions and
subdued domestic demand, it has been
on a recovery path. This was evident in
the second half of 2017 when
production in December surged
20.9% year-on-year.