Posted on 22 Jun 2023
The global steel production decline deepened in May to 5.1% on-year, giving 161,594 tonnes, with only India, the Middle East and Africa registering significant growth, Kallanish notes from worldsteel data.
Chinese output dropped 7.3% to 90.1mt, while Japan and South Korea saw production fall 5% and 0.1% respectively to 7.65mt and 5.8mt. India, so often the lone bright spot in recent months, again provided rarely-seen growth impetus in May, with production rising 4% to 11.17mt.
Japanese and South Korean output did however rebound versus April.
EU27 output fell 11% on-year in May to 11.63mt, despite 0.2% growth in Germany to 3.25mt. Italian output fell 9.5% to 2mt, Spanish output was down 16% to 1.05mt and French production was estimated down 33% to 805,000t.
Compared to April, however, EU output grew 4%, with Germany, Italy and Spain all seeing rebounds. The on-month growth trend seen in each month throughout the first quarter therefore resumed after a break in April.
Turkish production fell 10% on-year in May to 2.88mt, but rebounded versus April.
The US and Brazil saw production fall 2.3% and 5.5% respectively on-year to 6.95mt and 2.82mt. However, both rebounded on-month.
Russian output is estimated to have risen 8.8% on-year to 6.79mt.
Crude steel output in the 63 countries monitored by worldsteel thus fell 5% on-year in May to 161.59mt, and also edged down 0.2% on-month.
Source:Kallanish
