US production of crude steel edged down further. Nucor Steel moved up to #15 globally. US Steel, #24, gets acquired by #4, Nippon Steel.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
China, which produces over half the world’s crude steel – ingots, semi-finished products (billets, blooms, slabs), and liquid steel for castings – is dealing with the more or less controlled collapse of its property development sector, which once was a big contributor to overall economic growth. Construction is a big user of steel. In addition, there has been a slowdown in manufacturing.
So, since the peak in 2020, China’s production of crude steel has fallen by 4.3%, to 1,019 million tonnes (Mt) in 2023, according to new data from the World Steel Association, the worst three-year drop in the data going back to 1996, which had been marked mostly by blistering growth rates:
China’s production of crude steel – most of it for use by its domestic manufacturing and construction sectors, rather than exports – had seen big year-over-year growth rates in most years, even during the Global Financial Crisis, when steel production in the rest of the world dropped sharply. The exception was the period when the government tried to crack down on overproduction in 2014 through 2016. Over those three years combined, steel production fell by 1.8%, the first ever decline in the data going back to 1996.
In 2020, the first year of Covid, China’s steel production soared by 22% year-over-year, as the rest of the world had locked down parts of the economy. But then came the drops in 2021 and 2022 in response to the crisis in China’s property development sector (construction) and a slowdown in manufacturing. And in 2023 came a repeat of 2022. From the peak in 2020, steel production in China dropped 4.3%. The chart shows the moving three-year growth rates:
Global production of crude steel – despite the situation in China – nevertheless edged up in 2023 to 1,892 Mt.
China v. the Rest of the World.
Since 2000, global crude steel production has risen by 123%, largely due to the huge production growth in China: Over the period, production in…
- China multiplied by 8! (red)
- North America (US, Canada, Mexico) fell by 19% (blue)
- The rest of the world without China and without North America rose by 30% (green).
North American crude steel production edged down to 110 Mt, flat with 2015 and 2016, wobbling along below 1996 levels.
US production, at 81 Mt, was unchanged from 2022, and accounts for 74% of North American production.
In the rest of the world without China and North America, steel production in 2023 edged up to 763 Mt, after the drop in the prior year.
The share of China’s steel production was 53.9% in 2023, same as in 2022, but down from 57.1% at the peak in 2020.
North America’s share has been on a long steady decline and in 2023 dipped to 5.8%, the second lowest ever, behind only 2020.
The top 20 countries in crude steel production.
China’s production (1,019 Mt, #1 in the world) was seven times the magnitude of India’s production (141 Mt, #2 in the world). India’s production has surged by 40% since 2017. The US is #4, with 1/12th the production of China (North American countries in red):
The top 20 steel-producing companies.
The largest US steel producer, Nucor, moved up to #15 globally in 2023, from #16 in 2022. The next two steel producers, Cleveland-Cliffs and US Steel, are #22 and #24 globally. US Steel is in the process of being acquired by Nippon Steel, #4 globally. The acquisition may push Nippon Steel into the #3 slot.
Eleven of the top 20 are Chinese companies. The #2 producer, ArcelorMittal, a product of India’s Mittal Steel having acquired the French company Arcelor, is registered in Luxembourg and run from India.
| Top 20 steel-producing companies | Mt | ||
| 1 | China Baowu Group | China | 130.8 |
| 2 | ArcelorMittal, includes 60% AM/NS India | Luxembourg, India | 68.5 |
| 3 | Ansteel Group, incl. Benxi | China | 55.9 |
| 4 | Nippon Steel Corporation | Japan | 43.7 |
| 5 | HBIS Group | China | 41.3 |
| 6 | Shagang Group | China | 40.5 |
| 7 | POSCO Holdings | South Korea | 38.4 |
| 8 | Jianlong Group | China | 37.0 |
| 9 | Shougang Group | China | 33.6 |
| 10 | Tata Steel | India | 29.5 |
| 11 | Delong Steel | China | 28.3 |
| 12 | JSW Steel Limited | India | 26.2 |
| 13 | JFE Steel Corporation | Japan | 25.1 |
| 14 | Hunan Steel Group | China | 24.8 |
| 15 | Nucor Corporation | USA | 21.2 |
| 16 | Fangda Steel | China | 19.6 |
| 17 | Shandong Steel Group | China | 19.5 |
| 18 | Hyundai Steel | South Korea | 19.2 |
| 19 | Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) | India | 19.2 |
| 20 | Rizhao Steel | China | 18.7 |
| 22 | Cleveland-Cliffs | USA | 17.3 |
| 24 | US Steel | USA | 15.8 |
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