Global Steel Production

Steel

Global crude steel production reached 1,829.1 Mt in 2020, down -0.9% on the 2019 total, data from the World Steel Association reveal. There was a sharp divide between growth in China (+5.2% to 1053.0 Mt) and contraction in the rest of the world (-8.2% to 776.1 Mt).

However, world crude steel output rose by 5.8% year-on-year in December to 160.9 Mt. Chinese steel production climbed by 7.7% to 91.3 Mt. Meanwhile, growth in the world excluding China rose on an annual basis for a second successive month, up 3.5% to the highest level since January 2020.

In India (+4.4%) and South Korea (+1.2%) steel production increased on the year-ago level in December. There were also annual improvements in output in the EU/UK (+10.2%) and Turkey (+17.7%). However, production declined in Japan (-3.3%) and the US (-11.8%).