Global steel production totaled 1.67 billion tonnes in 2017 compared with 1.59 billion tonnes in 2016.
Volumes increased in Europe, North America, Asia and the CIS region.
The world’s largest steel producer, China, led the way with a 5.7% rise in crude steel volumes. China produced 831.73 million tonnes compared with 786.88 million tonnes in 2016.
Japan remained the world’s second-largest steel-producing nation despite a 0.11% year-on-year drop in crude steel output, to 104.66 million tonnes in 2017 from 104.77 million tonnes the year before.
India’s crude steel production totaled 101.37 million tonnes in 2017 compared with 95.48 million tonnes a year earlier - a 6.17% increase.
Elsewhere in Asia, Vietnam almost doubled its steel production to 10.3 million tonnes, making it the sixth largest producer in the region. The significant increase was due to Formosa Ha Tinh starting up its first new blast furnace and bringing on stream 3.5 million tpy of capacity. The mill plans to double its capacity by mid-2018 by bringing the rest of its facilities on stream.
In Thailand, steel production increased by 17.2% last year to 4.48 million tonnes.
