Worldwide steel production increased on both a monthly and a year-over-year level in December, raising the total crude steel output for 2010 to a new record, according to the World Steel Association.

Global production of crude steel increased 7.8 percent year-over-year in December 2010, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported Friday. Total steel production for the 66 countries tracked by worldsteel was 116.2 million metric tons last month, up from 114 million metric tons in November 2010 and 107.8 million metric tons in December 2009.

In 2010, worldwide crude steel output totaled 1.4 billion metric tons, a 15 percent increase over 2009 and a new record for annual global steel production.

After declining through 2008 and 2009, yearly steel production has not only rebounded to its pre-economic-crisis level, but exceeded it.

“All the major steel-producing countries and regions showed double-digit growth in 2010,” worldsteel explains. “The E.U. and North America had higher growth rates due to the lower base effect from 2009, while Asia and the C.I.S. recorded relatively lower growth.”

Steel output from China, the world’s largest steel producer, reached 626.7 million metric tons in 2010, a 9.3 percent increase over the country’s 2009 total. However, China’s share of global steel production declined from from 46.7 percent in 2009 to 44.3 percent last year.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japanese production rose to 109.6 million metric tons in 2010, up 25.2 percent from 2009. South Korea’s steel production climbed to 58.5 million metric tons, 20.3 percent more than the amount produced in 2009.

In total, Asian countries produced roughly 881.2 million metric tons of crude steel in 2010, up 11.8 percent from 2009, according to an announcement of the findings. Asia’s share of world steel output rose from 63.5 percent in 2009 to 65.5 percent in 2010.

In the European Union, Germany’s crude steel production rose to 43.8 million metric tons, a 34.1 percent increase over 2009. Production in Italy climbed to 25.8 million metric tons in 2010, up 29.7 percent from 2009, while Spain produced 16.3 million metric tons of steel, up 13.6 percent from 2009.

Combined, countries in the E.U. produced 172.9 million metric tons of crude steel in 2010, a 24.5 percent increase over 2009. Despite the gains, however,annual steel production in the United Kingdom declined 3.7 percent in 2010.

In the United States, crude steel output rose to 80.6 million metric tons in 2010, a 38.5 percent increase over the 12 months of 2009. U.S. steel production also improved on a monthly basis, climbing from 6.4 million metric tons in November to 6.7 million metric tons in December.

Apart from steel production, steel imports are also on the rise. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute‘s latest data, annualized steel imports to the U.S. are estimated to total 24.1 million net tons in 2010, up 48 percent from 2009. Imports of finished steel climbed to 18.9 million net tons in 2010, 34 percent more than the year earlier. Since peaking at 24 percent in July 2010, finished steel import market share has remained above 20 percent.

Shipments from U.S. metals service centers have increased, as well. According to the Metals Service Center Institute last week, steel shipments rose to nearly 35.7 million tons in 2010, up 20.6 percent from 2009. In December alone, steel totaled approximately 2.82 million tons, 25.6 percent more than in December 2009. Steel inventories at the end of the year totaled 7.71 million tons, also up 25.6 percent from 2009 and representing a 2.7-month supply at current shipping rates.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey’s latest primary metals index also experienced an uptick in December, climbing 1.8 percent from November. In December, the index’s six-month smoothed growth rate — a compound annual rate that tracks near-term trends — jumped 2.5 percent over November, “indicating that the recovery in the U.S. primary metals industry will likely remain strong in the near term.”

The capacity utilization rate for global steel manufacturing fell to 73.8 percent, down from 75.2 percent in November, according to worldsteel.

Resources

World Crude Steel Production
World Steel Association, Jan. 21, 2011

World Crude Steel Output Increases by 15% in 2010
World Steel Association, Jan. 21, 2011

Preliminary Steel Imports Decline 5% in November
American Iron and Steel Institute, Dec. 29, 2010

U.S., Canadian Metals Shipments Rebounded in 2010
Metals Service Center Institute , Jan. 19, 2011

Metal Industry Indicators
U.S. Geological Survey, Jan. 21, 2011