The release of April’s global crude steel production data by worldsteel on Tuesday confirmed that, as expected, global steel output hit yet another record high in the month. June 2014’s previous record was surpassed by 2%, with output rising above 1,700mtpa for the first time in history.
China’s record output of 886mtpa was certainly the major impetus, up 4.5% MoM to capture 51% of total output. Ex-China, however, also contributed and is actually running higher than China in terms of YoY growth. In light of this, apparent steel consumption was up 6% YoY on a global basis over the first four months of 2017, with the vast majority of developed and emerging markets positive. The notable exceptions are India (-9% YoY) on surging exports and Africa (-16% YoY) on lower imports.
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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.
