World steel production increased in April

World crude steel production in 64 countries represented by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) stood at 169.5 million tonnes (mt) in April this year, up 23.3% from the same month a year earlier.

The largest steel producing regions are Asia and Oceania, which produced 125.0 million tonnes in April this year. The second largest producer was the EU-27 region, with an output of 12.9 million tons. North America came in third with output of 9.7 million tons. Production (in million tonnes) for other regions is as follows: Africa (1.3), CIS (9.0), Other Europe (4.2), Middle East (3.5) and South America (3.8 ).

All regions recorded an increase in steel production compared to the same period last year. Production in the African region rose sharply by almost 94%. Production in the South American region grew 70.9%. In the EU-27 and North America regions, production growth was recorded by 42.8% and 38.2%, respectively. In other European countries, production also increased by 33.9%. In the CIS region, production increased by 20.7% over the previous year. Production in the Asia and Oceania region increased 19.2% year-on-year. Manufacturing in the Middle East rose 15.3%.

China became the leader in steel production with a production volume of 97.9 million tons in April 2021. India (8.3 million tonnes) and Japan (7.8 million tonnes) were other key producers.