Crude Steel Output Dipped Substantially in North America

The monthly crude steel production data for the month of October this year published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) denotes substantial dip in output by countries in North America.

The regional output totalled 8.505 Mt during the month. This compares with 9.788 Mt output in the same month a year before. Year-on-year, the output recorded a decline by 13.1%. The output by all the countries in the region, except Mexico, reported sharp decline. The output totalled 82.879 Mt in Jan-Oct ’20, significantly lower by 17.4% when matched with 100.355 Mt of output during the period from January to October in 2019.

The U.S- the largest crude steel producer in North America saw its output drop by more than 15% year-on-year. The country’s output dipped from 7.250 Mt to 6.143 Mt. The Cuban steel output reported 24% year-on-year decline, falling from 20,000 tonnes to 15,000 tonnes. The Canadian production was down by 17.5% over the previous year to 850,000 tonnes. The country had produced 1.030 Mt of crude steel in October 2019.

The other countries to see reduced production levels were El Salvador and Guatemala, whose outputs were down by 17.5% and 23.1% respectively. On the other hand, Mexico’s monthly crude steel output in October this year was estimated at around 1.470 Mt, marginally higher by 1.1% when compared with the output of around 1.454 Mt in the same month a year before.