Global steel output tapers off in June

The Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) says producers in its 63 member countries made 161.6 million tons of steel this June.

That figure represents a 2.8 million-ton drop of 5.1 percent compared with the prior month and is 0.1 percent less than the amount of steel produced in June of last year.

In the first half of the year, India has been the large-tonnage Worldsteel member with the biggest output increase, showing a 7.4 percent boost in production compared with the first half of last year.

Other nations producing more steel in this year’s first half compared with the first six months of 2022 include Iran (+4.8 percent), China (+1.3 percent) and Russia (+1 percent).

The nation with the biggest slump in output is, by far, earthquake-hit Turkey, which also has been battling against the devaluation of its currency and other economic woes. Steelmakers in that nation, which largely melt scrap via electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, made 16.3 percent less steel in the first half of 2023 compared with the same time frame in 2022.

Also producing less steel this year are Brazil (-8.9 percent), Germany (-5.3 percent), Japan (-4.7 percent), the United States (-2.7 percent) and South Korea (-0.5 percent).

A more recent figure covering only the United States shows one sign of encouragement. According to the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a Wordlsteel member, output rose both week on week and year on year in the third full week of July

AISI says in the week ending July 22, U.S. output of more than 1.74 million tons represented a 1.5 percent increase from the previous week and a 1.2 increase from the comparable week in 2022.

The association lists the U.S. steel sector as currently having a 76.6 percent capability utilization (mill capacity) rate, which is below the 78.1 percent rate from one year ago because of the introduction of new EAF capacity in the U.S.

In the most recently completed week, mills in the AISI South region churned out the most steel (785,000 tons), followed by those in the Great Lakes region (530,000 tons), Midwest region (222,000 tons), North East region (137,000 tons) and the Western region (67,000) tons.