US crude steel output up 9.3% in April

US crude steel output rose 9.3% in April compared with the same month last year, surpassing global steel production growth of just 1.2%, according to the World Steel Association (WorldSteel).

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US crude steel output rose 9.3% in April compared with the same month last year, surpassing global steel production growth of just 1.2%, according to the World Steel Association (WorldSteel). Crude steel output in the USA totalled 7.7 million tonnes last month, up from nearly 7.1 million tonnes in April 2011 and 10.8% higher than levels seen in the same month during 2010, as operations ramped up at RG Steel, Sparrows Point, Maryland; ThyssenKrupp Steel USA, Calvert, Alabama; and Severstal Columbus, Columbus, Missouri.

The rise in US steel output helped contribute to a 5.4% year-on-year jump in North American production volumes last month to 10.4 million tonnes, even as estimated Mexican output fell 6.1% to slightly less than 1.5 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, crude steel production in the European Union slid 5.2% to just under14.9 million tonnes in April as the region continued to undergo financial strain. Output also fell in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), declining 4.7 percent year on year to 9 million tonnes, WorldSteel said.

However, Asian output was on the rise, climbing 3% to nearly 83.5 million tonnes, including a 2.6% rise in Chinese production to almost 60.6 million tonnes.

Global output for the 62 nations reporting to WorldSteel totaled nearly 128.4 million tonnes in April.