Global crude steel production totaled 155.7 million mt in April, down 0.3% year over year, according to World Steel Association data published May 22.
This brought the January-April volume to 624.4 million mt, slightly lower by 0.4% year over year.
China produced 86 million mt of crude steel in April, steady from the previous year, accounting for 55.2% of the total global crude steel output, with January-April output up 0.4% to 345.4 million mt.
India, the world’s second-largest steel producer, saw production jump 5.6% in April to 12.9 million mt, followed by Japan at 6.6 million mt, down 6.4% year over year, the data showed.
For January-April, India produced 53.2 million mt and Japan produced 27 million mt, up 6.9% and down 5.3%, respectively, year over year.
US output in April edged 0.3% lower year over year to 6.6 million mt, with the four-month total at 26.4 million mt, steady from the previous year.
Russia produced an estimated 5.8 million mt in April, down 5.1% from April 2024, and South Korea produced 5 million mt, down 2.5% over the same period. Their four-month volumes were 4.5% and 3.4% lower at 23.4 million mt and 20.5 million mt, respectively.
Turkey’s production rose 7% year over year to 3 million mt in April, with its January-April volume down 1% to 12.3 million mt.
Germany, the largest steel producer in Europe, saw crude steel production drop 10.1% year over year to 3 million mt, the data showed, taking the four-month total to 11.4 million mt, down 11.9% year over year.
In the EU, crude steel production fell 2.6% year over year to 11.1 million mt, the data showed, with the January-April volume at 43.5 million mt, 2.4% lower over the same period.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic HRC prices in Northern Europe at Eur630/mt ex-works Ruhr May 21, up 12.5% since the start of 2025.
Brazil’s April crude steel production also dropped 3.1% year over year to 2.6 million mt, while Iran’s increased 4.6% to 3.3 million mt. Their January-April volumes were 11 million mt and 10.6 million mt, respectively, down 0.3% and 8% from a year ago.
Crude steel data covers 69 countries, which report to worldsteel, and account for about 98% of the world’s crude steel production.
