Global steel production increases 4 percent year over year in February

According to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel), Brussels, the 64 countries that report their crude steel production figures to the association made 4.1 percent more steel in February 2019 compared with February 2018, having produced 137.3 million metric tons.

Among the countries with production increases were China, which produced 71 million metric tons, 9.2 percent more than in February 2018 based on an estimate from the China Iron and Steel Association; Ukraine, which produced 1.7 million metric tons in February 2019, 5 percent more than one year earlier; the U.S., which produced 6.9 million metric tons of crude steel in February 2019, a 4.6 percent increase from February 2018; Spain, which produced 1.1 million metric tons of crude steel in February 2019, 2.5 percent more than in February 2018; India, which produced 8.7 million metric tons of crude steel in February 2019, 2.3 percent more than in February 2018; and South Korea, which made 5.5 million metric tons of crude steel in February 2019, 1.1 percent more than one year earlier.

Those countries that posted production declines included Turkey, which made 2.6 million metric tons in February 2019, 12.5 percent less than one year earlier; Japan, which made 7.7 million metric tons of crude steel in February 2019, 6.6 percent less than in February 2018; Italy, which produced 2 million metric tons, 2.7 percent less than in February 2018; Brazil, which made 2.7 million metric tons in February 2019, 1.7 percent less than in February 2018; France, which produced 1.2 million metric tons of crude steel in February 2019, a decrease of 0.3 percent compared with one year earlier.

For antitrust reasons, Worldsteel says it no longer produces a monthly global capacity utilization ratio.