August steel figures portray boom in India

Global crude steel production in the 63 countries that report to the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) show a 2.2 percent decrease in output this August compared with August of last year.

Of the 152.6 million metric tons (Mt) of steel made this August, more than half— 86.4 million—were made in China, which saw steel output rise by 2.2 percent compared with August 2022.

Among American ferrous scrap export destinations, steel production growth in India remains a good-news story this year. The 11.9 million metric tons of steel made this August in India is 17.4 percent more than the output in August of last year when 10.2 million metric tons of steel were made.

Throughout the year, leading ferrous scrap importer Turkey, beset by economic turbulence and earthquakes in its steelmaking region, has been making less steel, and that trend continued into August.

However, the 2.9 percent year-on-year drop in August demonstrates a smaller gap than in previous months. For the first eight months of this year, Turkey’ steelmakers are off their 2022 pace by 12.1 percent. This February, however, Turkey’s output was 28.9 percent lower than in February 2022.

In the United States, the domestic steel sector remains below last year’s pace. According to Worldsteel, which uses figures supplied by the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute, U.S. steel output is off by 1.9 percent after eight months compared with 2022.

Most other G7 nations are likewise showing steel sector sluggishness this year, with Japan’s output down by 3.8 percent and Germany’s production down by 4.2 percent.