Crude steel production in the
enlarged EU-25 is expected to be finalised at 193 million tonnes in
2004. This represents a 9.7 million tonne (5.3 percent) hike on the
previous year’s outturn. Supply from the original EU-15 is likely
to be concluded just 4.9 percent higher. Clearly, the new entrants
will have performed better than the fifteen member states.
An 11 percent jump in steel
production will be reported for the remaining European countries -
up from 28.7 million tonnes in 2003 to 31.85 million tonnes over the
past twelve months. A major proportion of the gain came from the
integrated ironmaking process.
The steelmakers of the former
USSR will be responsible for lifting year on year output by more
than 6 million tonnes in 2004. Most of this 5.7 percent gain
occurred through improvement in output from the blastfurnace/oxygen
convertor process.
Steel manufacturing in the
NAFTA region will be up by 9.7 million tonnes in 2004 compared to
the outturn in 2003. This increase of almost 8 percent has been
obtained by a combination of increased local demand and a
restriction on the volume of imports into the area.
The steel makers in South
America continue to lift output at a solid rate. We expect
production in 2004 to reach 46 million tonnes - 3.15 million tonnes
(7.5 percent) above the year earlier figure. Both local and export
demand have been firm over the past twelve months.
Africa is the only region
which will not record a substantial rise in steel making in 2004
compared to the year earlier figure. A quite modest gain is likely
to be reported when the statistics are finalised.
Steel production in the Middle
East will be 5.5 percent (0.75 million tonnes) up in 2004 compared
to the previous twelve months. All the increase will take place in
the Iranian steel sector. Output in the other main producing nations
of the region will be steady.
Asian crude steel production
in 2004 will be approximately 55 million tonnes up on the year
earlier figure. This equates to an increase of 12 percent over the
period. Most of the advance has occurred in the integrated
blastfurnace/oxygen convertor process. Steelmakers in China have
been responsible for a significant proportion of this escalation.
No significant improvement in
steel output has been recorded in Australia or New Zealand over the
past twelve months.
