Brussels (Yosefardi) – World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 132 million tons (Mt) in June 2013, an increase of 1.9% compared to June 2012.
World crude steel production in the first six months of 2013 was 789.8 Mt, an increase of 2.0% compared to the same period of 2012. Asia showed an increase of 5.5% while other regions recorded negative growth in the first half of 2013. The EU 27 produced -5.1% less and North and South America produced -5.8% and -4.6% less respectively. The C.I.S. region showed a decrease of -3.0%.
China’s crude steel production for June 2013 was 64.7 Mt, up by 4.6% compared to June 2012. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.3Mt of crude steel in June 2013, an increase of 0.9% compared to the same month last year. South Korea’s crude steel production was 5.5 Mt in June 2013, down by -5.4% on June 2012.
The US produced 7.2 Mt of crude steel in June 2013, down by -0.2% on June 2012. In the EU, Germany produced 3.7 Mt of crude steel in June 2013, a decrease of -2.2% compared to June 2012.
The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio for the 64 countries in June 2013 declined slightly to 79.2% from 79.6% in May 2013. Compared to June 2012, it is -1.5 percentage points lower.