Crude steel production for August 2016 for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 134.1 million t – a 1.9% rise on August 2015.
According to worldsteel’s latest monthly production report, China saw a 3% rise in steel production to 68.6 million t. Other leading Asian steel producers also saw growth with Indian production recording strong growth of 9.4% to reach 8.1 million t, placing the country third behind Japan on the global rankings.
Japanese output grew by a more modest 1.5% to 8.9 million t, while its East Asian neighbour, South Korea, registered growth of 1.8% to 5.9 million t.
Beyond Asia, Turkey registered strong growth of 12.9% to reach production of 2.9 million t. Staying in Europe, German and Italian production also grew by 2.4% and 7.4%, respectively. Spanish production fell by 11.8%, however, while Russian and Ukrainian production also dropped.
In the Americas, US production fell 3.4% on the previous year to 6.7 million t, while Brazilian output fell 1.1% to 2.7 million t.
Crude steel capacity utilisation ratio stood at 68.5% globally – up from 68% in August 2015 and 68.4% in July 2016. The steel capacity utilisation ratio is based on crude steel production information and OECD capacity estimates.
Members of worldsteel represent about 85% of the world’s steel production, including over 150 steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations and steel research institutes.