Russia fell back behind the United States in terms of steel production during the first half having overtaken the North American nation last year during the global recession, the World Steel Association said Tuesday. Russia raised steel production 22 percent to 32.7 million metric tons in the six months from a year earlier, while U.S. output jumped 69 percent to 41 million tons as the world economy recovered, World Steel said in a report. China and Japan are the world’s largest steelmakers, ahead of the United States, which has swapped places with India, now in fifth.
Russia remains the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker. World steel output rose 18 percent to 119 million tons in June from a year earlier, World Steel said. Russian crude steel output fell 7 percent in June from the previous month to 5.06 million metric tons, Metal Courier said Tuesday.
