More and more ferrous scrap was used to make steel around the globe in recent years. For one, this growth was spurred by the rapid rise in global crude steel production, which hit a historic high of 1.96 billion tonnes in 2021. For another, the proportion of steel made using the scrap-based electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking route increased constantly to reach a ten-year-high of 28.9 per cent in 2021.
However, worldwide scrap consumption fell sharply last year. Both total output and the proportion of EAF mill steelmaking declined in 2022, the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) reported in its annual publication "World Steel in Figures". According to Worldsteel, global crude steel production was down a good 4 per cent at 1.88 billion tonnes in 2022. The association put the share of steel produced in EAF mills at 28.2 per cent.
The industry association BIR (Bureau of International Recycling) has also recently published its annual "World Steel Recycling in Figures" report on scrap consumption and global trade in steel scrap. Read our full article and view tables and figures......
