Global steel production continues to decline

Monthly crude steel production in 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) fell slightly this November by 1.0% year on year.

World steel production was 147.791 million tonnes during the month, compared with 149.356 million tonnes recorded in the same month a year earlier. World crude steel production in October also fell 2.8% year on year.

All major regions, except Asia and Oceania, showed declines in output. The Asian region was able to increase production by 1.6%, mainly due to a 4% increase in production in China, the world's largest steel producer. The country accounts for more than 54% of world production. Production in the Oceania region increased significantly over the previous year by 7%.

Steel production in Africa fell by almost 24%, while production in South America was down 10.2% compared to November 2018. Production in Europe fell sharply by 10.7%. In the CIS and North America regions, production declines by 4.0% and 3.6%, respectively, according to Worldsteel's monthly production statistics. US manufacturing fell 2.2%.

The cumulative production of steel by the countries of the world in the first eleven months of this year increased by 2.7% over the previous year. Production increased year on year from 1.640 billion tonnes to 1.684 billion tonnes.