Ukraine remains 10th in WSA's rating in Jan

Ukrainian steelmakers cut steel output by 0.1% in January 2018 year-over-year (y-o-y), to 2.1 million tonnes, having retained the 10th place in the international steelmakers rating drawn up by the World Steel Association (WSA).

Read alsoUkraine metallurgy plunges into recession due to Donbas crisis – mediaChina continued to top the rating in January 2018 with 67 million tonnes of steel (0.9% down from January 2017). It was followed by Japan (9.03 million tonnes, 0.3% up), India (9.03 million tonnes, 2.5% up), the United States (6.8 million tonnes, 2.2% down), South Korea (6.1 million tonnes, 2.7% up), Russia (5.7 million tonnes, 3.9% down), Germany (3.7 million tonnes, 1.5% up) Turkey (3.2 million tonnes, 7.6% up), and Brazil (2.9 million tonnes, 1.3% up).

In general, the 64 countries ranked by the WSA increased steel output by 0.8% in January 2018 y-o-y, to 139.4 million tonnes.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine in December 2017 climbed to the 10th place in the international steelmakers rating. However, it ranked 12th over the 12 months of 2017, having cut production by 6.4% against 2016.

UNIAN memo. Ukraine ranked seventh in the WSA rating 2013 in terms of steel output, having produced 30.4 million tonnes. In 2014, the country slid to the 10th place with a steel output of 27.2 million tonnes. Since 2014, two factors have affected domestic steelmakers' activities: hostilities in Donbas, where more than half of steel production facilities are located, and a decline in world prices of raw materials for metallurgy and finished products. They reduced steelmakers' revenue and toughened competition on world markets, which was most evident in 2015. However, Ukraine managed to keep its 10th position in the industry rating in 2015 and 2016.