Global crude steel production fell slightly in July after two months of steeper declines, World Steel Association data shows.
Output amounted to 150.1mn t of crude steel in the month, down 1.3pc from the previous July and the lowest total volume in seven months.
Most of the decline owes to lower production in Asia. Mills in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan made modest cuts, while Chinese steelmakers cut production by 4pc on the year to 79.6mn t. Growth in the Indian steel industry offset some of this drop — Indian mills turned out 14mn t of crude steel in July, a 14pc increase from the same month last year.
The EU produced 7pc less crude steel on the year at 10.2mn t. German output dropped 14pc to 2.7mn t, showing just how much mills in the country have cut back to adjust to smaller order books and a weak industrial outlook. French mills trimmed their volumes even further, making 21pc less crude steel on the year at 800,000t, the World Steel Association estimates. But Southern European firms bucked the trend, with Spanish and Italian output slightly higher on the year.
Brazil produced 6pc less crude steel at 2.9mn t.
Crude steel production in Africa fell by 2pc, although Egypt and Algeria took different paths. Egyptian mills cut production by 16pc to 810,000t, while Algeria upped its output by 23pc to 400,000t. Algerian crude steel production has ticked up consistently since last August, seeing on-year growth in every month of 2025, after capacity launch.
US output increased by 5pc to 7.1mn t, while Mexican production shot up 25pc to 1.2mn t, the World Steel Association estimates, reflecting stronger fundamentals in the North American steel industry.
Iran and Saudi Arabia drove a 28pc increase in Middle Eastern output — the biggest regional on-year growth — with the countries producing 30pc and 54pc more crude steel, respectively.
| Leading producers' global crude steel production | mn t | ||
| Producer | Jul-25 | Jul-24 | ±y-o-y |
| World | 150 | 153 | -13% |
| China | 79.7 | 83.0 | -4% |
| India | 14.0 | 12.3 | 14% |
| Japan | 6.9 | 7.1 | -3% |
| US | 7.1 | 6.8 | 5% |
| Russia | 5.7 | 5.8 | -2% |
| South Korea | 5.3 | 5.5 | -5% |
| Turkey | 3.2 | 3.1 | 4% |
| Brazil | 2.9 | 3.1 | -5% |
| Germany | 2.7 | 3.2 | -14% |
| Iran | 2.2 | 1.7 | 30% |
| - World Steel Association | |||
