ANNUAL REPORT ARCELOR 2003 - paperJam

Trends in global crude steel production2001 2002 2003 (*) ChangeIn millions of tonnes 2003/2002World (**) 850.3 903.1 963.6 6.7%Western Europe 175.1 176.9 179.7 1.6%including: EU (15) 158.5 158.7 159.7 0.7%Central and Eastern Europe 29.4 30.0 31.6 5.5%Former USSR 100.1 101.6 108.0 6.3%including: Russia 59.0 59.8 62.7 4.9%North and Central America 119.9 123.0 123.0 0.0%including: United States 90.1 91.6 90.4 (1.3%)South America 37.4 40.9 42.7 4.6%including: Brazil 26.7 29.6 31.2 5.2%Asia 353.8 394.2 440.6 11.8%including: China 150.9 181.7 220.1 21.1%Japan 102.9 107.7 110.5 2.6%Other countries 34.4 36.6 38.0 3.8%(*) Estimates by IISI, January 2004(**) World=63 countries representing 98% of global crude steel productionGlobal crude steel production, according to estimatesmade by the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI),increased for the sixth consecutive year, rising by 6.7%in 2003 to a record 963.6 million tonnes. An increase wasrecorded in all regions of the globe with the exception ofNorth and Central America, where the production levelremained unchanged from last year, and the UnitedStates, where production fell 1.3%. Without China,which accounts for more than one fifth of world production,the growth in production would have been 2.4%.Crude steel production increased by 11.8% in the Asiancountries as a whole, fuelled by China, which exceededby 21.1% its production record set the previous year.India increased its production by 10.3%, while Japan,after a rise of 4.7% in 2002, saw a further increase of2.6% in 2003.Western Europe, the second largest steel producer inthe world, saw its production rise by 1.6%, including a0.7% increase for the European Union (EU15). Productionin Central and Eastern European countries rose by5.5%, reflecting the dynamic economic activity of thatregion. Production in the countries of the former USSRrose to 108 million tonnes, representing a year-on-yearincrease of 6.3%. Russia and the Ukraine increased theirproduction by 4.9% and 8.4% respectively.The countries of South America increased their year-onyearproduction by 4.6%. Argentina saw an increasein crude steel production of 15.5% compared to 2002,and Brazil, the largest producer in that part of the world,raised its production to 31.2 million tonnes, a 5.2%increase.66ANNUAL REPORT ARCELOR 2003