Worldsteel reported Chinese crude steel production at 66.1 million metric tonnes in October, 3.1% lower than in October 2014. Chinese crude output for the first ten months of 2015 was 2.2% lower than in the same period last year.
China’s net finished steel exports (exports minus imports) in October were 8.1 million tonnes, 8.2% higher than net exports in October 2014, but 21.2% lower than the record level reached in September 2015. Net exports for the first ten months of 2015 were 32.1% higher than in the first ten months of 2014.
China monthly crude steel production
January 2005 to October 2015
thousand metric tonnes
Worldsteel published October’s world crude steel production on November 20th. World crude steel production was 133.6 million metric tonnes, 3.1% lower than in October 2014. World output for the first ten months of 2015 was 2.5% lower than in the same period last year.
China accounted for 49% of world production in October with output of 66.1M tonnes, down 3.1% compared to October 2014. Though Indian crude production rose 4.9% over the same period, elsewhere in Asia like in China, Japanese output was down 3.8%, South Korean production dropped 5.6%, and Taiwanese production fell 17.6%. In the European Union, production was down 3.8%, driven by a 20.9% decline in France and a 8.6% drop in Italy. And in North America, US production was down a significant 8.8% year-on-year.
All the data for October 2015 and for a number of prior years can be found in the Nerds spreadsheet below.
Based on reported import licenses, US long products imports rose 53% from 361,000 short tons in September to 552,000 tons in October. Long products imports in October 2014 were 494,000 tons and in October 2013 they were 300,000 tons. Longs imports for the first 10 months of 2015 were 10% higher than in the same period last year.
The rise in long products imports in October was mainly due to higher rebar imports from Turkey. However, a rise in wire rod and parallel flange sections imports from a number of different countries also contributed to overall increase.
Long products import licenses for November as reported mid-month on November 17th were 226,000 tons, which is likely to mean that full-month November imports will be lower than October’s.
SIMA US long products import licenses and import actuals
2012 to 2015
short tons
Based on reported import licenses, US flat products imports fell by 1% from 975,000 short tons in September to 966,000 tons in October. Flat products imports in October 2014 were 1,538,000 tons and in October 2013 they were 806,000 tons. Imports of flat products over the first 10 months of 2015 were 1% lower than in the same period last year.
There was little change in total flat product imports between September and October because cut plate and cold rolled imports fell about the same amount as hot roll and hot dip galvanized imports rose. Cut plate imports fell mainly from Germany and Korea while cold roll imports fell from China and Brazil. In contrast, hot roll imports rose significantly from Korea and Brazil while hot dip galvanized imports increased from Taiwan, South Africa, and India.
I will update the chart below to show mid-November licenses when the figures are published the week of November 16th.
SIMA US import licenses and actuals, flat products
October 2012 to October 2015
short tons
Most North American steel companies have released Q3 2015 earnings. The chart below shows EBITDA per ton for the companies included in the Nerds of Steel quarterly earnings spreadsheet. As you can see in the chart, some mills are reporting slightly improved EBITDA/ton while others are showing a decline from Q2. TimkenSteel, which is heavily exposed to the oil & gas industry, showed the biggest drop in EBITDA/tonne.
Worldsteel reported Chinese crude steel production at 66.1 million metric tonnes in September, 3.0% lower than in September 2014. Chinese crude output for the first nine months of 2015 was 2.0% lower than in the same period last year.
China’s net finished steel exports (exports minus imports) in September hit a record high at 10.2 million tonnes, 43.0% more than in September 2014. Net exports for the first nine months of 2015 were 35.4% higher than in the first nine months of 2014.
China monthly crude steel production
January 2005 to September 2015
thousand metric tonnes
