July global steel output rises 3.3% on year to 161.7 million mt

World crude steel production rose 3.3% on the year to 161.7 million mt in July, marking a continued recovery by the sector from the impact of COVID-19, the World Steel Association said on Aug. 24. All regions and major producing countries registered higher production in July from the previous year.

China proved to be the exception, falling 8.4% on the year to 86.8 million metric tonnes in July and recording its first decline in 2021 in the process. The decline came amid an overall slowdown of China’s economy as well as production curbs imposed by the government in Tangshan to curb pollution.

India, the next biggest producer, had an output of 9.8 million mt of crude steel in July, up 13.3% on the year. Japan produced 8 million mt, up 32.5% on the year. The output in the whole of Asia and Oceania stood at 116.4 million mt in July, down 2.5 % on the year amid the fall in China’s production, worldsteel data showed.

In July, the total worldwide crude output stood at 168 million mt, while China alone produced 93.88 million metric tonnes in June.

The US output rose 37.9% on the year to 7.5 million mt in July. Russia is estimated to have produced 6.7 million mt in July, up 13.4% on the year. South Korea’s output rose 10.8% during the same period to 6.1 million mt.

Germany, the EU’s biggest producer, produced 3 million mt in July, a rise of 24.7% on the year. Europe produced 13 million mt of crude steel in total, a rise of 30.3% year on year. Brazil also produced 3 million mt in July, a year-on-year rise of 14.5%. Turkey produced 3.2 million mt in July, a rise of 2.5% on the year, while Iran’s production rose 9% during the same period to 2.6 million mt, worldsteel data showed.

In the first seven months of 2021, global crude steel production reached 1.165 billion mt crude steel, up 12.4% on the year.

Iron produced in blast furnaces worldwide in July amounted to 111.67 million mt, compared with 113.88 million mt produced in June. The production of direct reduced iron stood at 8.54 million mt in July and 8.31 million mt in June, worldsteel data showed.

The data released covers the 64 countries that report to worldsteel, accounting for around 98% of the world’s crude steel production in 2020.

— Annalisa Villa