Global raw steel production for the 65 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 138m metric tons in March 2015, a 2.7% drop compared to March 2014. With a bit more than 400m metric tons of steel produced worldwide during the first three months of this year, the year-to-date total of raw steel production is down 1.8% versus the first-quarter total for 2014, Industry Week reported. The slowing production rate matches the conclusions of the WSA’s recent short-range outlook for steel consumption, which forecasts an increase of just 0.5% this year over 2014. March 2015 raw steel capacity utilization slipped to 71.6%, 1.8% lower than February 2015, and 4.0% lower than March 2014.
