India replaces Japan as second top steel producer, output jumps 4.9% to 106.5 MT in 2018, says global steel body

New Delhi: India has replaced Japan as world’s second largest steel producing country, while China is the largest producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51 per cent of production, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel). The global steel body in its latest report noted that China’s crude steel output jumped 6.6 percent to 928.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2018 from 870.9 MT in 2017. China’s share increased from 50.3 percent in 2017 to 51.3 percent in 2018. [caption id=“attachment_4358339” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] “India’s crude steel production in 2018 was at 106.5 MT, up by 4.9 percent from 101.5 MT in 2017, meaning India has replaced Japan as the world’s second largest steel producing country. Japan produced 104.3 MT in 2018, down 0.3 percent compared to 2017,” worldsteel said. Global crude steel production reached 1,808.6 MT for the year 2018 from 1,729.8 MT in 2017, a rise of 4.6 percent, it said. Others in the top 10 steel producing countries include the United States, at the 4th position as the country produced 86.7 MT of crude steel in 2018, South Korea (72.5 MT, 5th place), Russia (71.7 MT, 6th), Germany (42.4 MT, 7th), Turkey (37.3 MT, 8th), Brazil (34.7 MT, 9th) and Iran (25 MT, 10th). Among other countries, Italy produced 24.5 MT of crude steel in 2018, France (15.4 MT) and Spain (14.3 MT), Ukraine (21.1 MT). World Steel Association is one of the industry associations in the world. Its members represent around 85 percent of the world’s steel production, including over 160 steel producers with 9 of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes.     To keep watching India’s No. 1 English Business News Channel – CNBC-TV18, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family Pack (inclusive of 24 channels), available for Rs. 35/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 4/- per day. To keep watching the Leader in Global Market & Business News – CNBC-TV18 Prime HD, call your Cable or DTH Operator and ask for the Colors Family HD Pack (inclusive of 25 channels), available for Rs. 50/- per month, or subscribe to the channel for Rs. 1/- per day.