Global raw steel production fell to 144.7 million metric tons during February, a -3.8% drop from the January total, and a decrease that was evident in nearly all of the world’s top producer nations. While February typically results in slower output, the new monthly total shows nine of the past 12 months resulted in falling output – and compared to the year-ago period result the new figure is -3.4% lower.
The first two months of 2025 resulted in 302.0 million metric tons produced worldwide, -2.2% lower than January-February 2024
All the data is reported by the World Steel Association, which maintains monthly data for raw steel production regionally and in 69 nations. The figures document carbon steel produced in basic-oxygen or electric arc furnaces and cast into semi-finished forms like billets for bar and rod products; slabs for flat products; or blooms, for beam and pipe products. Specialty and stainless steel volumes are not included.
Steel production worldwide continues to face weak demand, and steelmakers in most industrialized regions continue to restrain any surplus tonnage that may weaken prices.
In an October forecast, World Steel predicted 2024 global steel consumption would total 1.75 billion metric tons, principally due to weak demand from industrial and construction sectors – making it the third consecutive year of declining demand for steel. That forecast also predicted that 2025 global steel consumption will grow just 1.2% year-over-year.
The February raw steel output in China was 78.9 million metric tons, or about 54.5% of the volume produced worldwide last month. It was -3.8% less than the amount produced in China during January, and -3.3% less than the February 2024 result.
For the current year to date, Chinese steelmakers have produced 166.3 million metric tons of raw steel, just -1.5% less than January-February 2024.
Indian steelmakers produced 12.7 million metric tons of raw steel during February, -7.1% less than their January total but 6.3% more than the February 2024 output. Compared to 2024, they are 6.8% ahead with 26.4 million metric tons produced during January and February.
In Japan, 6.4 million metric tons were produced during February, -6.2% less than the previous month and -8.5% less than a year ago. Japan’s year-to-date output is 13.2 million metric tons, -7.5% less than the comparable total for last year.
U.S. steelmakers produced 6.0 million metric tons (6.6 million short tons) during February, a -15.0% decrease from January and -7.0% less than last February. For the first two months of the year, U.S. steel output is 12.9 million metric tons (14.2 million short tons), or -1.3% less during the same period of 2024.
For the Russian steel industry, World Steel estimated 5.8 million metric tons produced during February, -3.4% less than last February’s result, indicating a -2.5% decrease for the year to-date.
South Korea was the only nation among the top 10 steelmaking nations that did not produce a negative month/month total – it posted no change from its January result of 5.2 million metric tons – and it’s year/year improvement is just 0.7%.
In the European Union (27 nations), the total output for February was 10.1 million metric tons, or -7.1% below the year-ago figure. Within that total is the German steel industry’s 2.7 million metric tons produced during February, -3.7% less than January and -1.6% less than February 2024. Year-to-date raw steel output for Germany is down -13.1%.
