Global Crude Steel Production

Global crude steel production touched a new record in 2010, driven by growth in emerging regions and improving manufacturing in the developed world, although the construction sector remained gloomy.

Global production rose 15% to 1.414 billion tonnes in 2010 from 1.327 billion in 2008 and 1.229 billion in 2008, according to data released by the World Steel Association on Friday:

Global crude steel production
País		2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	20101
01	China	182.249	222.413	280.486	355.790	422.660	489.899	500.488	567.842	625.000
02	Japan	107.745	110.511	112.718	112.471	116.226	120.203	118.738	87.534	109.553
03	USA	91.587	93.677	99.681	94.897	98.557	98.102	91.490	58.142	80.000
04	Russia	59.777	61.450	65.583	66.146	70.830	72.387	68.510	59.940	65.000
05	South Korea	45.390	46.310	47.521	47.820	48.455	51.517	53.488	48.598	61.000
06	Germany	45.015	44.809	46.374	44.524	47.224	48.550	45.833	32.671	45.000
07	Ukraine	34.050	36.932	38.738	38.641	40.891	42.830	37.107	29.757	33.000
08	Indian	28.814	31.779	32.626	45.780	49.450	53.080	55.050	56.608	66.200
09	Brazil	29.604	31.147	32.909	31.610	30.901	33.782	33.713	26.507	32.000
10	Italy	26.066	27.058	28.604	29.350	31.624	31.553	30.477	19.737	26.000

 “The production data is better than people could expect in the aftermath of the crisis in 2009”

said Anthony de Carvalho, administrator on the steel committee at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“The economic stimulus programmes (undertaken by governments) indirectly helped the steel industry. But many countries are still below pre-recession levels”.

Asia and other developing countries drove the growth and reached record production levels, while output in Western economies lagged behind 2008's levels as growth remained fragile and the construction sector was hit hard, analysts said.

Production in China, the world's largest steel producer, rose 9.3 percent to 626.7 million tonnes on the previous year, but its share of global production fell to 44.3% from 46.7% in 2009.

Analysts said China's growth was strong but hampered by electricity cuts in the last part of 2010, analysts said.

“China had problems trying to meet environmental requirements”

said Peter Fish, managing director at MEPS, a steel information provider.

“But the Chinese could not grow 20% or 30% like some other countries, because in 2009, when everyone else took a dip, China didn't”.

Chinese steel production is expected to grow but at a slower rate in 2011, closer to 5% versus 7-8% growth in India, Fisher forecast.

China

As China's economy grows, the authorities are likely to turn to monetary policy to contain inflation, and this could affect steel demand, according to analysts.

“We do think that a tighter monetary policy in China will slow down steel consumption and this will start to kick in in the second half of 2011”

said Chris Houden, analyst at CRU.

Japan, the world's second-largest steel producer, enjoyed 25.2% growth in 2010 to 109.6 million tonnes versus 2009. Its exports have got a boost from growth in neighbouring economies such as China and Korea, according to De Carvalho.

EU and U.S. steel production grew rapidly but from a lower base. Production in the European Union grew by 24.6% to 172.9 million tonnes and in the United States by 38.5% to 80.6 million.

These countries are still struggling with overcapacity, analysts said.

“(Capacity) utilization is picking up from low levels, but the question is: Will producers keep production low to get price increases?”

said UBS analyst Andrew Snowdowne.

While steel production in emerging economies will continue to grow to record levels, it may take developed countries a few more years to go back to pre-crisis levels given the fragile state of their economies, analysts said.

Brazil

The production in scale is the main vulnerability of the Brazilian steel for the competition in his own market due to the competition to have stopped being local to be global. This aspect turns necessary that the economical politics and tax Brazilian is reviewed, as well as the production. For his shift no there is as choosing as priority the internal market to the detriment of the external, or the opposite; the competition is global. Alan Greenspan in his book “the Era of the Turbulence” demonstrated that very well in the USA in the decade of 1960, when the manufacturers of automobiles had to seek new sources of provisioning: 

 

“Until then, the United States didn't import a lot of steel, because the conventional wisdom suggested that the steel industries foreigners were not to the height of the American quality patterns. But, when the strike of 1959 reached his second and later third month, the manufacturers of automobiles and other great customers had to seek other sources of provisioning. And, then, they discovered that it leaves of the originating from steel Europe and of Japan it was of first category and, still for top, cheaper”.

The trader and lawyer Rinaldo Maciel de Freitas considers the Institute Steel Brazil, for the acronym IABr, a condominium of thieves and, in judge's Luiz Fernando Boller, o words that IABr - Institute Steel Brazil search is:  

 

“... to impede the free market competition, confronting the Federal Constitution, reducing the free activity exercise the all allowed, even if before the submission to the rules of the competition. The opening of the national ports for imports and exports imposes their positive and negative effects on the totality of the national reality, from the production of grains and victuals in general, until the industry of the clothing, electronic etc., not having law to guarantee for the institute and their associates, a captive, submissive and slave national market, so that here he can practice the price that better it suits him” (TJSC - Tribunal of Justice of Santa Catarina - Process nº 2010.073993-7 - Judge Luiz Fernando Boller - 06/11/2010).