World crude steel production decreased by 6pc to 147.1mn in March compared to the same month in 2019, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel).
The US produced 7.2mn mt of crude steel last month, declining by 6pc compared to March 2019, and comprising 4.9pc of global crude steel output. Brazil produced 2.6mn mt of crude steel in March, down by 8.2pc from the same month last year.
Russia estimated it produced 5.9mn mt of crude steel in March 2020, down 4.4pc compared to March 2019. Ukraine produced 1.8mn mt of crude steel, declining by 10.3pc from March 2019. Turkey’s crude steel production totaled 3.1mn mt, rising by 4.1pc compared to March 2019.
China produced 79mn mt of crude steel last month, comprising 53.7pc of global output, and declining by 1.7pc from March 2019. India estimated 8.7mn mt of crude steel production in March 2020, down by 13.9pc from a year ago. At 5.9pc, India is the second-largest crude steel producer worldwide.
Japan estimated 8.2mn mt of crude steel production in March, down 9.7pc from a year ago, while. South Korea produced 5.8mn mt, declining by 7.9pc against March 2019.
In the EU, crude steel production was severely affected by lockdown policies intended to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Germany estimated 2.9mn mt of crude steel production in March 2020, down by 20.9pc compared to March 2019. Italy produced 1.4mn mt of crude steel last month, down by 40.2pc compared to the same month last year. France estimated 1.2mn mt of crude steel production in March, down by 13.2pc from a year earlier. Spain produced 1.2mn mt of crude steel last month, declining by 14.6pc against March of last year.
World crude steel production totaled 143.3mn mt in February 2020, increasing by 2.8pc compared to February 2019. Crude steel production rose by 2.7pc in March 2020 from a month earlier, according to the worldsteel data.
World crude steel production totaled 443mn mt in Q1 2020, down by 1.4pc compared to the same period in 2019. Asia produced 315.2mn mt of crude steel in Q1 2020, declining marginally by 0.3pc over Q1 2019. The EU produced 38.3mn mt of crude steel in Q1 2020, decreasing by 10pc compared to the same quarter last year. North America’s crude steel production through the first three months of 2020 totaled 29.5mn mt, but decreased by 4pc compared to Q1 2019. Global crude steel production reached 1.9bn mt in calendar 2019, rising by 3.4pc compared to 2018.