World crude steel production increased 5.3% year on year in July to 109.9 million metric tons, according to the International Iron and Steel Institute in Brussels. This brings the seven-month total to 761.8 million metric tons for the 67 countries reporting data. The July production total of 700,000 metric tons was 0.6% below the June total of 110.6 million. The seven-month total is an increase of 7.9% from 706.2 million metric tons in the same 2006 period.

China again was the world's top steel producer in July, smelting 41.3 million metric tons, a 14.5% increase over July 2006 but about 2% less than 42.1 million produced in June.

IISI says China's share of world production was an estimated 37.5% in July 2007, compared with 34.5% a year ago. For the seven-month period, China's production was 278.9 million metric tons, an increase of 18.5% from 235.4 million a year earlier. (If the current rate of growth is sustained for the remainder of the year, China will pass its full-year 2006 production of 422.7 million metric tons and reach almost 474 million in 2007.)

Japan, the world's second-largest producer, reported July production of 10 million metric tons, a gain of 1.5% from a year ago and 0.3% above the previous month. South Korea recorded a year-over-year increase of 2.7%, but India's production declined unexpectedly by 7.2% from a year ago. North American production increased 0.7% in July to 11.3 million metric tons from a year ago, and was also up 1.2% from the previous month.

U.S. production declined 0.7% from a year ago, but gained 1.9% from the previous month. Canada increased year-over-year steel output by 5.3% to 1.4 million metric tons and Mexico was up 6.3% to 1.35 million metric tons.

South American production declined by 0.7% in July to 3.9 million metric tons from July 2006, but Brazil, the region's largest producer, showed a year-over-year increase of 5.3% to 2.9 million metric tons. Production in the 27 European Union nations was 16.9 million metric tons, a 4.2% drop from the previous month and 1.8% below July 2006. Year-to-date production in the EU27 was up 2.1% to 124.9 million metric tons.