World crude steel production reached 143.3 million tonnes in February 2020, up 2.8 percent from February 2019, according to the World Steel Association. The corrected figure, published on 24 March after Canada's estimate was revised, showed output holding up even as the coronavirus disrupted Chinese demand. China produced 74.8 million tonnes, an increase of 5.0 percent, despite stalled construction and record stockpiles. India made 9.6 million tonnes, up 1.5 percent, Japan produced 7.9 million tonnes, up 2.2 percent, and the United States made 7.2 million tonnes, up 3.0 percent. The association cautioned that the China Iron and Steel Association reports January and February together, so the separate monthly figures for China were estimates. Total output for the first two months of 2020 was about 294 million tonnes, roughly 1 percent higher than a year earlier. The February data captured production rather than demand, and the gap between the two was already visible in swelling inventories.
Source: SEAISI (World Steel Association) — https://www.seaisi.org/details/342?type=news-rooms
Photo: Wikimedia Commons (freely licensed).