World crude steel production fell 6.1% y-o-y to 155 million tonnes (mnt) in Jan’22, as per the latest worldsteel (WSA) data. On a monthly basis, the same edged down 2% against 158.7 mnt produced in Dec’21.
In CY’21, total production volumes jumped 3.6% annually to 1,911.9 mnt.
Top three steel producing nations
1. China’s crude steel output down 11% y-o-y: China’s crude steel production stood at 81.7 mnt in Jan’22, down 11.2% compared to 92 mnt in the same period a year ago. Production curbs till Mar’22 to reduce carbon emissions and maintain clear skies for Winter Olympics impacted production volumes during the period. Moreover, the target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 is another major factor that will impact volumes in upcoming months.
Further, in CY’22, Beijing’s policy is to produce 100-150 mnt less steel in comparison to that in CY’21.
China’s crude steel production fell 5% m-o-m against 86.2 mnt seen in Dec’21. Moreover, the total volumes churned out in CY’21 were 1,032.8 mnt, down by 3% y-o-y.
2. India’s crude steel production up 5% y-o-y: India, the second-largest steel producing nation, recorded an output of 10.8 mnt of crude steel in Jan’22, up 4.7% compared to 10.32 mnt in Jan’21. On a monthly basis, the same increased by 4% against 10.4 mnt in Dec’21.
The increase in production is mainly due to the ramp-up in capacity utilisation with the addition of new capacities. For instance, JSW Steel commissioned its 5-mtpa Dolvi plant in Nov’21, which is adding up to JSW’s total crude steel production. Tata Steel, on the other hand, took over NINL recently and has further plans to increase its long steel production capacity.
India’s steel production aggregated to 118.1 mnt in CY’21, up by 17.8% y-o-y.
3. Japan crude steel production down 2% -y-o-y: Japanese mills produced 2.1% less of crude steel at 7.8 mnt in Jan’22 compared to 7.97 mnt in CPLY. On a monthly basis, crude steel production dropped marginally against 7.9 mnt in Dec’21.
Subdued demand from downstream industries such as automobiles amid semi-conductor shortage majorly impacted the overall steel production. Furthermore, the Japanese steel industry is on an overdrive to reduce excess capacities and is implementing a technological transition to reduce its carbon footprint, which are also among major factors behind the drop.
Japan’s steel output summed up to 96.3 mnt in CY’21, up by 14.9% y-o-y.
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