Global steel production fell by almost 2% in January 2024

Global crude steel production from the 71 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 148.1 million tonnes (Mt) in January 2024, down 1.6% from January 2023.

Crude steel production by region

Africa produced 2.0 million tonnes in January 2024, up 16.3% from January 2023. Asia and Oceania produced 107.6 million tonnes, down 3.6%. The EU (27) produced 10.2 million tonnes, down 1.8%. Other European countries produced 3.9 million tons, an increase of 22.5%. In the Middle East, 4.7 million tons of steel were produced, which is 23.1% more than a year earlier. North America produced 9.2 million tons of steel, down 2.1% year-on-year. Russia and other CIS countries + Ukraine produced 7.2 million tons, showing an increase of 4.0%. South America produced 3.4 million tonnes, down 6.3% from January 2023.

Table 1. Steel production by region

The 71 countries included in this table accounted for approximately 98% of total world steel production.

Regions and countries presented in the table:

  • Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa , Tunisia.
  • Asia and Oceania: Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Vietnam.
  • European Union (27): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
  • Europe, Other: Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, UK.
  • Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
  • North America: Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala , Mexico, USA.
  • Russia and other CIS countries + Ukraine:Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine.
  • South America:  Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Top 10 steel producing countries

China is estimated to have produced 77.2 million tonnes in January 2024, an increase of 6 .9% less than in January 2023. India produced 12.5 million tonnes, up 7.3%. Japan produced 7.3 million tons, an increase of 0.6%. The US produced 6.8 million tons, down 0.3%. Russia is estimated to have produced 6.2 million tonnes, up 1.2%. South Korea produced 5.7 million tons, an increase of 1.5%. Türkiye produced 3.2 million tons, an increase of 24.7%. Germany is estimated to have produced 2.9 million tonnes, down 0.9%. Iran produced 2.6 million tons, an increase of 39.3%. Brazil is estimated to have produced 2.5 million tonnes, down 7.2%.

Table 2. Top 10 steel producing countries

e – calculated. The ranking of the 10 largest producing countries is based on total figures for the current year.