Worldsteel 2020 figures show virus’ mixed impact

Year-end figures for global steel production collected by the Brussels-based World Steel Association (Worldsteel) show some 1.864 billion metric tons of steel were made in 2020, down by 0.9 percent compared with 2019.

Among the world’s 10 largest steel producing nations, six produced less steel in 2020 compared with 2019, owing largely to the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent restraints on economic activity.

China remained far and away the world’s biggest steelmaker, producing more than 1 billion tons for the second consecutive year and enjoying a 5.2 percent rise in its steel output. China was joined by Iran (+13.4 percent), Turkey (+6 percent) and Russia (+2.6 percent) as the nations among the top 10 who registered year-on-year steel output increases.

The six nations among the top 10 that produced less steel in 2020 were the United States (-17.2 percent), Japan (-16.2 percent), India (-10.6 percent), Germany (-10 percent), South Korea (-6 percent) and Brazil (-4.9 percent).

China’s share of global crude steel production increased from 53.3 percent in 2019 to 56.5 percent in 2020, says Worldsteel.

The 17.2 percent decrease experienced by steelmakers in the U.S. was joined in the Western Hemisphere by an 8.4 percent decrease in output in South America. In 2020, Brazil produced 31 million metric tons of steel, compared with 72.7 million metric tons made in the U.S. last year.

The EU produced 138.8 million metric tons of crude steel in 2020, a decrease of 11.8 percent compared with 2019, while India’s crude steel production of just under 100 million metric tons was down by 10.6 percent compared with 2019.