World crude steel production fell 4.3 percent year on year to 161.2 million tonnes in March 2024, the World Steel Association reported on 24 April. China produced 88.3 million tonnes in the month, down 7.8 percent on March 2023, as mills cut output in the face of weak demand and rising inventories. Chinese crude steel output in the first quarter totalled 256.6 million tonnes, down 1.9 percent on the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. March is normally a seasonally strong month for Chinese steel, but construction activity stayed lacklustre and blast furnace utilisation fell to about 83 percent by the end of the month, from over 90 percent a year earlier. Several provincial steel associations called in mid-March for voluntary production cuts to halt the slide in prices, and Beijing signalled in early April that it would reintroduce controls on crude steel output for 2024.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News (World Steel Association) — https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/world-steel-association-march-2024-crude-steel-production-down-4-3/
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