There’s no doubt about it, the world loves steel. It’s one of the most versatile materials available, and it’s used across countless industries. Steel is also recyclable and renewable and therefore will have a large part to play in creating a sustainable future.
New technology and increased needs for infrastructure have led to a surge in demand for crude steel around the world, but who are the biggest producers? Read on to find out.
Last year global crude steel production rose to 1808.6 million tonnes in 2018, up by 4.6% compared to last years result of 1689 million tonnes. So who’s making all this steel? Let’s have a look at how the figures stack up, with the top ten steel producing countries in the world, according to the World Steel Organisation’s latest figures.
10. Iran
First on the list is Iran, which produced 25.0 million tonnes of steel in 2018, up 17.7% from 2017’s result which was 21.2 million tonnes.
9. Brazil
Brazil currently ranks number nine for worldwide steel production. Last year Brazil produced 34.7 million tonnes of steel, up from 34.4 million tonnes in 2017, an increase of 1.1%.
8. Turkey
Turkey comes in at number eight, last year producing 36.3 million tonnes of steel, which is slightly down from 2017’s result of 37.5 million tonnes. A decrease of -0.6%.
7. Germany
Germany ranked seventh in global steel production, producing 42.4 million tonnes of steel last year. Despite this, Germany clocked in a slight decrease of -2.0% from the year before, when they produced 43.3 million tonnes of steel.
6. Russia
Russia comes in at number sixth in the world’s steel production. In 2018 Russia produced 71.7 million tonnes of steel last year, a small increase of 0.3% on the year before when they produced 71.5 million tonnes.
5. South Korea
South Korea ranks number five in terms of global steel production. South Korea produced 72.5 million tonnes of steel last year, up a solid 2.0% from their 2017 result of 71.0 million tonnes.
4. United States
The United States is fourth in the world for steel production and last year produced a sizeable 86.7 million tonnes of steel. This is an increase of 6.2% on 2017’s figure of 81.6 million tonnes.
3. Japan
Japan produced 104.3 million tonnes of steel in 2018, a figure that is -0.3% down from 2017 result of 104.7 million tonnes. Although it wasn’t much of a decrease, it was enough for India to slip past into second place. Apart from producing large amounts of crude steel, Japan is the second largest exporter of high-grade steel, with roughly 40 million tonnes being exported every year.
2. India
India produced 106.5 million tonnes of coal in 2018, which saw them eclipse Japan and slide hit second place in the world for steel production. This is an increase of 4.9% over their 2017 result of 101.5 million tonnes.
1. China
China is way ahead in terms of steel production, with a production of 928.3 million tonnes last year, exceeding their previous result of 870.9 million tonnes. This is an increase of production of 6.6%. China’s share of global crude steel production also increased by 1%, from 50.3% in 2017 to 51.3% in 2018. China’s steel production has increased for some time, with the Hesteel Group and Baosteel Group being China’s biggest steel processors.
If you’d like more information about steel production, or if you need quality steel that is fabricated to suit your unique needs, contact Steel Fabrication Services today.
Our team of expert structural steel fabricators have the experience and knowledge to answer any of your questions and will ensure that you find the best solution to suit your needs. To contact us today, simply call, fax, email for information or a steel fabrication quote, or drop by our Brookvale location.
