Steel production in Asia rises in September

Steel production in Asia rose 0.9 percent during September on an annualized basis, according to data released by the World Steel Association.

China's total crude steel production during September was 67.540 million tonnes, unchanged from September 2013 production. India produced 6.846 million tonnes of steel, up 2.5 percent from 6.677 million tonnes in September last year.

Japan reported a slight decrease in average monthly crude steel output in September. Steel production in Japan fell from 9.289 million tons in September 2013 to 9.244 million tons in the same month in 2014.

South Korea's crude steel production increased significantly in September this year. The increase was 10.1 percent to 5.695 million tonnes compared to September 2013, when production was at 5.171 million tonnes. Taiwan smelted 1.880 million tonnes of steel in September 2014, increasing production by 12.5 percent compared to 1.672 million tons in the same month last year.

Cumulative steel production in the first nine months of 2014 in thousand tons compared to the same period in 2013 as a percentage is: China 618,000 (+2.3), India 62.412 (+1.8), Japan 83.123 (+0, 8), South Korea 53.270 (+9.4), Taiwan 16.891 (+0.9).