3. United States
The United States produced 88.6 million tonnes of steel in
2012, which put it third on the list for steel production. The United States is
nowhere close to being the king of steel like it was a few decades ago, and it
probably won’t reclaim its throne for quite some time. Steel production in 2009
was a rough year, but production has picked back up thanks to the help of
governmental projects and a resurging economy. Many steel producers in the
United States like Capital Steel &
Wire compete with steel giants abroad by producing higher quality and more
reliable steel at higher prices. With India right behind the United States in
production, it probably won’t be long until the United States ranks fourth in
largest steel producers.
2. Japan
Surprising to many is the fact that Japan is the second
largest steel producer in the world, producing 107.2 tons in 2012. With some of
the largest ship building ports in the world, Japan produces a large percentage
of the world’s steel for ships. Additionally, Japan is home to some of the
largest car manufacturers in the world, which all require large quantities of
steel for production.
1. China
What should come as no surprise is that China is once again at the top of the list
for steel production, producing 715.5 million tons in 2012, which was 46% of
the entire world’s steel production. This tremendous output of steel is a
result of a huge need for steel internally, the ability to make steel in super
huge quantities at lower prices, and a large workforce available and willing to
provide the human labor. China was one of the few countries that didn't lose a
step in 2009, when the entire world steel industry seemed to lose ground, and
they don’t seem to show any signs of slowing down.
