World crude steel production for the 65 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 138 million tons (Mt) in March 2015, a -2.7 percent decrease compared to March 2014.
In the first three months of 2015, North America’s crude steel production in the first three months of 2015 was 28.1 Mt, a decrease of -6.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014. Asia produced 272.0 Mt of crude steel, a decrease of -1.1 percent over the first quarter of 2014. The EU produced 43.7 Mt of crude steel in the first quarter of 2015, slightly down by -0.6 percent compared to the same quarter of 2014. The C.I.S. produced 24.8 Mt of crude steel in the first three months of 2015, a decrease of -5.9 percent over the same months of 2014.
China’s crude steel production for March 2015 was 69.5 Mt, a -1.2 percent decrease compared to March 2014. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.3 Mt of crude steel in March 2015, a decrease of -4.5 percent compared to March 2014.
The US produced 6.6 Mt of crude steel in March 2015, a decrease of -12.7 percent compared to March 2014. Brazil’s crude steel production for March 2015 was 2.8 Mt, down by -7.4 percent on March 2014. The crude steel capacity utilisation ratio for the 65 countries in March 2015 was 71.6 percent. It is -4 percentage points lower than March 2014. Compared to February 2015, it is -1.8 percentage points lower.