Ukraine slides to 12th place in WSA's rating in Feb

Ukrainian steelmakers boosted steel output by 11.2% in February 2018 year-over-year (y-o-y), to 1.9 million tonnes, having slid from the 10th to the 12th place in the international steelmakers rating drawn up by the World Steel Association (WSA).

In January-February 2018, Ukraine increased steel production by 4.9%, to 4 million tonnes y-o-y, while taking the 12th place in the WSA rating.

Read alsoUkraine metallurgy plunges into recession due to Donbas crisis – mediaChina continued to top the rating in February 2018 with 64.93 million tonnes of steel (5.9% up y-o-y). It was followed by India (8.434 million tonnes, 3.4% up), Japan (8.296 million tonnes, 0.5% down), the United States (6.446 million tonnes, 0.4% up), South Korea (5.415 million tonnes, 2.1% down), Russia (5.15 million tonnes, 5.7% down), Germany (3.34 million tonnes, 3.2% down) Turkey (2.998 million tonnes, 8.7% up), and Brazil (2.714 million tonnes, 5.5% up).

In total, the 64 countries ranked by the WSA increased steel output by 3.5% in February 2018 y-o-y, to 131.791 million tonnes.

Read alsoUkraine cuts steel output in Oct, retains 13th place in WSA's ratingChina also topped the WSA rating in January-February 2018 with 136.817 million tonnes (5.9% up y-o-y). It was followed by India (17.462 million tonnes, 2.9% up), Japan (17.321 million tonnes, 0.1% down), the United States (13.337 million tonnes, 0.5% down), South Korea (11.709 million tonnes, 1.9% up), Russia (10.85 million tonnes, 4.8% down), Germany (7.04 million tonnes, 0.8% down) Turkey (6.172 million tonnes, 8.1% up), and Brazil (5.58 million tonnes, 3.3% up).

The 64 countries ranked by the WSA boosted steel output by 4% in the two months of 2018 y-o-y, to 276.652 million tonnes.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine in 2017 slid to the 12th place in the international steelmakers rating, having cut production by 6.4% against 2016, to 22.7 million tonnes.

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.