Ukraine slides to 13th place in WSA's steelmakers rating in Jan

Ukrainian steelmakers cut steel output by 4.9% in January 2019 year-over-year (y-o-y), to 1.85 million tonnes, while sliding from the 12th to the 13th place in the international steelmakers rating drawn up by the World Steel Association (WSA).

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China retained its top position in January 2019 with 75 million tonnes of steel (4.3% up from January 2018). It was followed by India (9.18 million tonnes, 1.9% down), Japan (8.14 million tonnes, 9.8% down), the United States (7.65 million tonnes, 11% up), South Korea (6.2 million tonnes, 1.5% down), Russia (5.8 million tonnes, 4.5% down), Germany (3.4 million tonnes, 7.2% down), Brazil (2.9 million tonnes, 2.3% up), Turkey (2.6 million tonnes, 19.5% down), Iran (2.2 million tonnes, 2.6% down), Taiwan (2 million tonnes, 10.4% up), and Italy (1.96 million tonnes, 3.6% down).

In total, the 64 countries ranked by the WSA increased steel output by 1% in January 2019 y-o-y, to 146.7 million tonnes.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian steelmakers cut steel output by 1.1% in 2018 against 2017, to 21.1 million tonnes, having slid from the 12th to the 13th place in the WSA rating.

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 global markets, which was most evident in 2015. However, Ukraine managed to keep its 10th position in the industry rating in 2015 and 2016.