Posted on 25 Dec 2025
Global crude steel production among the 70 countries surveyed by the World Steel Association (WSA) declined by 4.6% on year to register 140.1 million tonnes in November, according to the WSA's latest release issued on December 23.
On a monthly basis, the global total last month also posted a 2.2% decrease from 143.3 million tonnes in October, Mysteel Global calculated based on the WSA release.
These 70 countries' cumulative crude steel production totalled 1.66 billion tonnes in the first 11 months of 2025, lower by 2% from the same period last year, data in the WSA release showed.
China, the world's largest steelmaker, produced 69.9 million tonnes of crude steel in November, thinning by 10.9% on year and hovering below the 70-million-tonne threshold for the first time this year. Its November output also slipped by another 2.9% from October, marking the eighth consecutive on-month drop, Mysteel Global calculated based on the WSA statistics.
One reason for China's lower crude steel output last month could be shrinking profit margins on steel sales, which dampened steelmakers' production enthusiasm, Mysteel Global noted. As of late November, only about 87 of the 247 steel mills under Mysteel's coverage reported making a profit from steel sales, logging a decrease of 24 mills compared to October 30 and marking the lowest number this year.
The intra-year low in monthly output also took China's cumulative crude steel production over January-November to 891.7 million tonnes, 4% lower on year. The tonnage accounted for 53.6% of the global total, down by another 0.3 percentage point from its share over the first ten months.
In addition, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Germany also recorded on-year slides in their crude steel output in November.
On the contrary, India, the world's second-largest steelmaking country, continued to post higher crude steel production, with its output in November swelling by 10.8% on year to 13.7 million tonnes. This lifted India's January-November output higher by 10.3% on year at 150.1 million tonnes, the WSA release indicated.
The United States posted further gains as well, with its November production mounting by 8.5% on year to reach 6.8 million tonnes, and its cumulative output over the past 11 months also edged up by 3.2% to 75.1 million tonnes, according to the WSA release.
Source:Mysteel Global
