Global Steel Production Rises In 2020, But Not In North America
- According to the World Steel Association, crude steel production in its 64 member countries was 162.9 million tons in January 2021, a 4.8 percent increase over January 2020. Production in the United States declined 9.9 percent year-over-year, however, while it rose 6.8 percent in China. Production throughout North America was down seven percent; it was up 6.6 percent in all of Asia. Click here to read more.
- According to Nikkei Asia, imports of steel into China increased 150 percent to 38.56 million tons in 2020. The report also said “China’s overall steelmaking capacity appears to have declined as well. The country scrapped 150 million tons worth of production capacity from 2016 to 2018, or over 10 percent of what it held at the end of 2015.” Click here to read the full article.
- Hellenic Shipping News reports that the European steelmakers’ association, Eurofer, forecasts that only 7.4 percent of the regional production volumes lost in 2020 will be made up in 2021 with further volume growth of 4.1 percent in 2022. Consumption will recover faster, Eurofer predicted, rising 13.3 percent in 2021 and 3.4 percent in 2022. Consumption declined 13 percent in 2020.