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Johannesburg - South African steel production fell by 7.6% year on year (y/y) in May to an estimated 570 000 tons after plunging by 16.6% y/y in February to 515 000 tons‚ according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data.
There was a fire at the ArcelorMittal SA [JSE:ACL] basic oxygen furnace plant on February 9 in Vanderbijlpark‚ south of Johannesburg.
In mid-April the company said its basic oxygen furnaces had been recommissioned.
In the first five months of this year South African steel production was down 11.4% y/y and 21.1% lower than the first five months of 2011.
By contrast‚ China’s steel industry‚ which is a major importer of South African iron ore‚ grew by 8.0% y/y in the first five months to 325.2-million tons‚ while the global steel industry expanded production by 2.1% y/y to 658-million tons.
Last year South African production fell by 5.7% to only 7.12-million tons‚ its lowest level since at least 1980. This contrasts with a 1.2% rise in global steel production last year after an 8.1% jump in 2011.
