International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI) data shows a record figure of 1.3 billion tons for 2007 crude steel output with a 7.5 percent increase compared to 2006.

This makes 2007 the fifth consecutive year of world crude steel output more than 7 percent growth.

Of all the output, China slow down the growth from 18.8 percent to 15.7 percent compared to 2006, but still totaled 489 million tons. Steel production in the EU 27 remained stable from the second quarter, with year-end figures of 210.3 million tons, showing a 1.7 percent growth over 2006.