The World Steel Association (worldsteel) announced yesterday (June 22nd) that global crude steel production in May decreased by 8.7% to 148.8 million tons compared with the same period last year as the COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic and many steel mills stopped production.

According to worldsteel’s data, India's output decreased the most with a decrease of 39.1%, and South Korea's output decreased the smallest as 14.1%. The output of the US, Japan, and the EU fell by 36.6%, 31.8%, and 26.8% respectively. However, China's crude steel output in May increased by 4.2% year on year.

The steel production of the worldsteel’s members accounted for about 85% of the total global production. The association estimated that global steel demand would be reduced by 6.4% this year, but it would rebound next year.