2015 global steel production a bad year

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From the World Steel Association:

World crude steel production reached 1,622.8 million tonnes (Mt) for the year 2015, down by -2.8% compared to 2014. Crude steel production decreased in all regions except Oceania in 2015.

Image Annual production for Asia was 1,113.8 Mt of crude steel in 2015, a decrease of -2.3% compared to 2014. China’s crude steel production in 2015 reached 803.8 Mt, down by -2.3% on 2014. China’s share of world crude steel production increased from 49.3% in 2014 to 49.5% in 2015. Japan produced 105.2 Mt in 2015, down by -5.0% compared to 2014. India’s crude steel production for 2015 was 89.6 Mt, up by 2.6% on 2014. South Korea produced 69.7 Mt of crude steel in 2015, a decrease of -2.6% compared to 2014.

In 2015, the EU (28) produced 166.2 Mt of crude steel, a decrease of -1.8% compared to 2014. Germany produced 42.7 Mt of crude steel in 2015, down by -0.6% over 2014. Italy produced 22.0 Mt in 2015, a decrease of -7.1% over 2014. France’s crude steel production in 2015 was 15.0 Mt, down by -7.2%. Spain produced 14.9 Mt of crude steel in 2015, an increase of 4.4% compared to 2014.

Crude steel production for 2015 in North America was 110.7 Mt, a decrease of -8.6% compared to 2014. The US produced 78.9 Mt of crude steel, down by -10.5% on 2014.

The CIS showed a decrease of -4.3% in 2015, producing 101.5 Mt of crude steel. Russia* produced 71.1 Mt of crude steel, down by -0.5% on 2014 and Ukraine* recorded a decrease of -15.6% with a year-end figure of 22.9 Mt.

Annual crude steel production for South America was 43.9 Mt in 2015, a decrease of -2.5% on 2014. Brazil produced 33.2 Mt in 2015, down by -1.9% compared to 2014.

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Image In December 2015, world crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 126.7 Mt, a decrease of -5.7% compared to December 2014. The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio of the 66 countries in December 2015 was 64.6%. This is -4.9 percentage points lower than December 2014. The average capacity utilisation in 2015 was 69.7% compared to 73.4% in 2014.
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A bad year all right, down 40mt, or 60mt of iron ore demand gone. I expect the same or worse for the world this year with much more of it focused in China.
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About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.