Steel production in CIS countries increased in October

The monthly production data released by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) indicates a moderate increase in crude steel production in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region in October this year.

Production in the region increased by 4.7% over the previous year. In October 2020, production was 8.393 million tonnes (million tonnes), which is comparable to production of 8.015 million tonnes in the same month a year earlier.

Russia was the leading steel producer in the region. Steel production in Russia amounted to 6.050 million tons, which is approximately 72% of the total production in the region. In October 2020, production in the country increased by 4.3% from 5.798 million tons in the same month a year earlier. Meanwhile, smelting in Ukraine also increased by 5.9% over the year from 1.561 million tons to 1.653 million tons. In Kazakhstan, the third largest regional steel producer, production fell by more than 3% compared to the same period last year.

The total steel production in the first ten months of this year amounted to 82.684 million tons, which is 1.9% less than in the previous year. From January to October 2019, steel production in the region amounted to 84.252 million tonnes. The largest steel producers in the CIS region in January-October 2020 were Russia (59.327 million tons), Ukraine (17.963 million tons) and Kazakhstan (3.397 million tons). ...