The latest statistics published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) points to significant decline in crude steel production by North American countries during the month of June this year.

According to worldsteel data, the North American crude steel production edged lower by 32.2%, upon comparison with the same month a year before. The June ‘20 production totalled 6.651 million tonnes (Mt), as against the production of 9.814 Mt in June 2019. All the countries reported reduced output during the month.

The U.S. production totalled 4.746 Mt, down by 34.5% from 7.244 Mt in June last year. The Canadian output too dropped by 30.8% year-on-year from 1.084 Mt to 0.750 Mt. Meantime, Mexican output witnessed year-on-year decline by 21.4%.

The June ‘20 output by Cuba witnessed notable decline by almost 40% over the previous year. The output by the country totalled around 10,000 tonnes, as compared with 17,000 tonnes. The other crude steel producers in the region were Guatemala (10,000 tonnes) and El Salvador (5,000 tonnes).

The cumulative crude steel output by North American countries totalled 50.167 Mt in the initial half of 2020, notably down by 17.6% from the previous year. The output by the region had totalled 60.878 Mt in Jan-June ’19. The key producers were the U.S. (36.198 Mt), Mexico (8.157 Mt) and Canada (5.572 Mt).