European grind for Q1 2018 was 358,432 MT, up 1.5 percent from the previous quarter and 5.5 percent higher than Q1 2017 grind. Meanwhile, Q1 grind reported for Asian manufacturers was 190,244 MT, down 3.2 percent from Q4 2017’s volume but up an impressive 7.2 percent from grind in Q1 2017. For Europe, this marks five consecutive quarters of YoY growth, ten quarters for Asia.
Grind in North America saw YoY declines both in Q4 2017 and Q1 2018. Roughly in line with market expectations, its Q1 2018 grind was 118,778, a slight improvement from the previous quarter but down 1.1 percent from Q1 2017 grind. As a reminder, North America grind fell in 2015 by 7 percent and has remained stuck at that lower level since.
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