Global Steel Production Hits Record High in May

Global steel production hit an all-time high in April and that record was smashed in May. Global steel production in April achieved a new high annual rate of 1.880 billion metric tons (Mt). Production surged in May to an annual rate of 1.953 billion Mt. Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion Mt and capacity utilization in May was 80.0 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In the months of April and May, Chinese production exceeded an annual rate of one billion metric tons for the first time. In May, China produced an all-time high global share of 54.7 percent.

Figure 1 shows annualized monthly production on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and capacity utilization since May 2000. On a tons-per-day basis, production in May was 5.25 million Mt, another all-time high.