The 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association have totalled 107 million metric tons (mmt) in September for World crude steel production. This is -0.6% lower than September 2008. World total crude steel production month-on-month has continued to show a steady increase since April 2009. China’s crude steel production for September 2009 was 50.7mmt, 28.7% higher than September 2008. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 8.3mmt of crude steel in September 2009, down by -18% compared to the same month last year. South Korea showed a decline of -2.4% from September 2008, producing 4.4mmt of crude steel in September 2009. In the EU, Germany’s crude steel production was 3.2mmt in September 2009, a decrease of -21.7% from September 2008. France produced 1.3mmt in September 2009, down by -15.3% from September 2008. Turkey produced 2.1mmt of crude steel in September 2009, -1.8% down from September 2008. The US produced 5.4mmt of crude steel in September 2009, a decrease of -31.4% compared to the same month last year. Iran produced 0.9mmt of crude steel in August 2009, 4% more than in September 2008. Total crude steel production in the 66 reporting countries for the first nine months of 2009 was 866mmt, a -16.4% decrease over the same period of 2008.
