In March 2021, global steel production increased to new record highs. A total of 169.2 million tonnes of steel were produced, according to data provided by World Steel Association (WSA), which is 15.2% above the previous year's result and 9.5% above February 2021, according to issue 1421 of AK&M Information Agency's "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metallurgy" monthly paper published on May 5, 2021.
Global steelmaking reached 486.9 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2021, which is 10% above the 3-month result in 2020. China accounted for 56% of the global output, the country's share in global steelmaking continuously increasing since April 2020, only pausing in November 2020. It should also be noted that the 54 countries beyond the top 10 steel producers contribute a mere 14% of the global output.
Russia increased steel production by 4.4% YoY to 18.9 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2021, ranking fifth among steelmaking leaders (according to the WSA data). The U.S. reduced steel output by 6.3% to 20.4 million tonnes, Japan by 1.7% to 23.7 million tonnes, while China increased production by 15.6%, South Korea by 3.8%, India by 10.4%, Turkey by 9.5%, Iran by 10.7%.
The rapid steel production growth was partly driven by the low base effect. To recap, it was in March 2020 that the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world paralyzing the global economy. However, after the situation was brought under control in China and several other countries, the decline in production suddenly caused shortage of steel products in many countries while demand for it rose sharply, resulting in soaring prices and an overheated market in what is usually considered a slack season. The shortage of metal triggered an unprecedented hike in prices, which catalyzed the production growth this March.
In December 2020, global prices of most types of rolled products skyrocketed to reach new record highs. After a correction in February, prices saw another hike in March on record demand from China. Price of semi-finished products and long-products grew slower than prices of flat products which hit new record highs. Specifically, the average slab price increased by 6.5% to $781.9 per tonne, hot-rolled coiled steel advanced in price by 10.3% to $920 per tonne, cold-rolled coiled steel by 10.6% to 1,052.8 per tonne.
An in-depth review of the trends and performance results of the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy market in March 2021 is provided in issue 1416 of AK&M Information Agency's "RUSSIAN INDUSTRIES: PRODUCTION, FINANCE, SECURITIES. Ferrous and Non-ferrous Metallurgy" monthly paper (issue 1421).
