BRUSSELS (Yosefardi) – World crude steel production for the 63 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 132 million tonnes (Mt) in April 2013, an increase of 1.2% compared to April 2012, mostly due to strong growth in China.
China’s crude steel production for April 2013 was 65.7 Mt, up by 6.8% compared to April 2012. “Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.2 Mt of crude steel in April 2013, up by 1.0% over April 2012. South Korea’s crude steel production was 5.5 Mt in April 2013, down by -6.3% compared to the same month last year,” the association said.
The US produced 7.3 Mt of crude steel in April 2013, down by -7.3% on April 2012. In the EU, Germany produced 3.7 Mt of crude steel in April 2013, down by -0.9% on April 2012.
The crude steel capacity utilization ratio for the 63 countries in April 2013 rose to 80.0% from 79.1% in March 2013. Compared to April 2012, it is -2.0 percentage points lower.