Steel production totaled 131.8 million metric tons worldwide during February, a 9.0% decline from January but still 3.5% higher than the February 2017 global total. Through the first two months of this year, steel production for the 64 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 276.65 million metric tons, 4.0% higher than last year’s January-February total.

World Steel Assn. tracks raw-steel output and capacity utilization by steelmakers in 64 nations, which accounts for about 99% of total raw-steel production worldwide. Raw steel is the output of basic-oxygen and electric-arc furnaces, and cast into semi-finished products, like billets, blooms, and slabs.