World steel production dropped 19 percent in November

World crude steel production for the 66 countries that report to the World Steel Association was 87.6 million tons (89 million metric tons) in November, down 19 percent from the same month last year.
Total world crude steel production was 1,205 million tons (1,224.6 million metric tons) the first 11 months of 2008, a 0.9 percent increase over the same period in 2007.
China’s crude steel production for November 2008 was 34.6 million tons (35.2 million metric tons), a decrease of 12.4 percnet compared to production in November 2007. In the first 11 months of 2008, China produced 455.7 million tons (463 million metric tons) of crude steel, an increase of 2.6 percent compared to the same period in 2007.
Overall, Asia produced 53.2 million tons (54.1 million metric tons) of crude steel in November 2008 compared to 60 million tons (61 million metric tons) in November 2007, a 11.4 percent decrease in crude steel production. Japanese production was 8.6 million tons (8.8 million metric tons), down by 12.9 percent compared to the same month last year.
In the EU, Germany produced 3.2 million tons (3.3 million metric tons) of crude steel in November 2008, a decrease of 18.5 percent from November 2007. Italy’s crude steel production was 2.2 million tons (2.3 million metric tons), down by 16.5 percent compared to the same month last year. France showed a decrease of 29.1 percent from November 2007, producing 0.9 million tons (1.0 million metric tons) in November 2008.