core sector communique

Global steel output falls but more cuts needed, says analyst

Crude steel production in August was 113m tonnes in the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association. This resulted in a third consecutive month in which world steel output fell with a decline of 2m t or 1.7% from July. Despite this, year-to-date output remained 20% above year-before levels.

Steel Business Briefing’s Managing Editor, Roger Manser, says that the decline shows that producers are responding to the weak market. However “more cuts will be needed in most parts of the world in Q4 for the market to come into balance.”

While Chinese production for August was 1.1% down on last year’s, other Asian nations recorded increases, such as Japan 7%, Korea 6%, and India 6%. In the European Union output rose by 15% compared to last August. For January-August 2010 Turkey retained its position as second largest European steelmaker behind Germany; its eight-month output of 18.4mt exceeded the 16.8mt produced by the previous No.2, Italy.

From the figures sent to Steel Business Briefing, worldsteel notes that August 2010 output was almost flat compared with August 2008, before the impact of the global recession. But while countries like China, Turkey and Iran showed higher production, the USA, Germany, Italy, Russia, Brazil and Japan are not yet back to pre-crisis levels.

Crude steel output Thousand tonnes. Source: WSA
	August 2010	Jan-Aug 2010	Jan-Aug 2009	% change
EU 27	12,137	115,634	84,086	+37.5
Other Europe	2,843	21,009	18,503	+13.5
CIS	8,710	70,414	61,992	+13.6
N. America	9,353	74,828	49,773	+50.3
S. America	3,746	28,550	23,081	+23.7
Africa	1,457	10,950	9,686	+13.1
Middle East	1,560	12,440	11,428	+8.9
Asia	73,322	592,706	502,947	+17.8
Oceania	744	5,454	3,320	+64.3
Total	112,871	931,984	764,814	+21.9

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About SBB:

Steel Business Briefing Ltd (SBB) was formed in London in 2001 by a small group of steel professionals. Its philosophy was, and still is, to serve the global steel business with quality news, prices, research and events. SBB now has six offices around the world in key steel areas, and publishes every day in 8 languages. We have over 150 members of staff, are read by over 95,000 people daily, and continue to grow rapidly.