According to a statement released by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), Turkish crude steel production, which had been indicating a slowdown since the last quarter of 2012, exceeded 3 million mt in September, for the first time since May.
In September, Turkish crude steel output amounted to 3.01 million mt, decreasing by 1.2 percent compared to September 2012, while it registered a strong increase of 17.1 percent month on month. May was the only other month this year in which Turkish crude steel output exceeded the 3 million mt mark.
During the first nine months, Turkey's crude steel output decreased by five percent to 25.81 million mt. In the given period, Turkey's slab output amounted to 5.86 million mt, falling 12.9 percent, while the country's steel billet output decreased by 2.4 percent to 19.95 million mt, both year on year.
The TCUD statement indicated that Turkey ranked as the ninth biggest crude steel producer in the world in January-September, falling behind Brazil which registered a crude steel output of 25.91 million mt, down 0.6 percent year on year. Ukraine followed Turkey with a crude steel output of 24.99 million mt, falling slightly by 0.2 percent year on year.