Crude steel production increased worldwide in 2023, amounting to 1,888.2 million metric tons. In Europe as a whole, this represents a total decrease of 6.7% in crude steel production for 2023 compared to 2022.
As for France, the country's crude steel production decreased by 17.36% from 12.1 million tons to 10 million tons in 2023, ranking 19th in the world. Approximately 40% decline in crude steel production in the country in the last two years has been attributed to factors such as fluctuations in the global economy, decreases in demand and increases in energy costs. The outlook for 2024 is similar, with a decrease in steel and crude steel production across Europe and the possibility that major steelmakers may reduce their production volumes.
In 2023, Poland's crude steel production declined by 13.1%, from 22nd to 23rd place in the world ranking, with an annual production figure of 6.4 million tons. According to SteelRadar sources, the ongoing war in Ukraine has been effective in the decrease in Poland's crude steel production. Sources told SteelRadar that steel products that cannot be processed in Ukraine are processed in Poland, but their origin is not registered as Polish, which has a negative impact on the country's production figures.
Fluctuations in raw material prices, issues in the global supply chain, and decisions by leading steel producers either suspending production or reducing capacity made Italy one of the countries that recorded a downturn in crude steel production. In 2023, Italy ranked 11th in the world with 21.1 million tons of production.
Likewise, Spain, which experienced a 2.7% decline, produced 11.3 million tons of crude steel, behind last year's production of 11.6 million tons. Nevertheless, despite this decline, it ranked 17th in the world ranking, showing progress compared to 2022.
Netherlands and Belgium were the other European countries that experienced a decline in crude steel production. The Netherlands' production fell to 4.7 million tons in 2023, dropping to 33rd place in the world ranking. On the other hand, Belgium fell to 24th place with a production of 5.9 million tons in 2023.
Crude steel production in Sweden decreased from 4.4 million tons in 2023 to 4.3 million tons in 2023, moving down to 36th place in the global ranking. According to SteelRadar sources, this is a continuation of the downward trend that began in 2021, when production was 4.7 million tons.
Czechia produced 3.4 million tons of crude steel in 2023, falling to 39th place in the world ranking. Producing 4.8 million tons in 2021, the Czech Republic continued its downward trend in the last two years, leaving the United Arab Emirates behind with 3.4 million tons in 2023.
In Europe, Slovakia and Finland, two countries which increased their crude steel production by 15.4% and 7.7% respectively, have not yet reached their 2021 levels. Slovakia, which ranked 34th in the world with 4.9 million tons of production in 2021, decreased to 3.9 million tons in 2022 and fell to 37th place. By 2023, it recovered its 34th place with 4.5 million tons. Finland's production of 4.3 million tons in 2021 decreased to 3.5 million tons in 2022. The country increased its crude steel production in 2023 and recorded 3.8 million tons. In spite of the changing production figures, Finland remained in 38th place for the following years.
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