Posted on 27 Apr 2026
Crude steel production among the 69 countries worldwide monitored by the World Steel Association (WSA) amounted to 459.2 million tonnes over the first three months of 2026, retreating by 2.3% from the level in the first quarter last year, according to the association's latest release published on April 23.
The on-year drop in Q1 output widened by 0.8 percentage point from a 1.5% decrease over January-February, which can be attributed to a faster contraction in China's output last month as well as the production slump in the Middle East due to the region's escalating tensions since late February.
As the world's largest steelmaking country, China churned out 87 million tonnes of crude steel in March, falling by a larger 6.3% on year. The country's total output in the January-March quarter contracted by 4.6% on year to 247.6 million tonnes, the WSA release indicated.
Among the world's top ten steelmaking countries, Japan, Russia and Brazil also posted on-year declines in their crude steel output over January-March. Particularly, Russia recorded double-digit on-year falls in output for both March and Q1. Market analysts attributed Russia's sharp decline to tightened monetary policy, sluggish domestic demand and a pressured environment for steel exports.
In addition, crude steel output in the Middle East plunged by 33.5% on year to 3.5 million tonnes last month, and the region's cumulative output in Q1 registered 12 million tonnes, down by 9.3% on year. Notably, Vietnam surpassed Iran to rank as the tenth largest steelmaker around the world in March with an output of 2.2 million tonnes, the WSA data showed.
On the positive side, India, the second-largest steelmaking country, continued to post robust growth in crude steel production, with the tonnage produced in March and Q1 jumping by 9.4% and 10.8% on year to 15.3 million tonnes and 44.7 million tonnes, respectively.
The United States remained the world's third-largest steel producer, with its crude steel output in March rising 5.2% on year to 7.2 million tonnes, and the cumulative production for Q1 notched 21 million tonnes, up by 5.7% on year, according to the WSA data.
Source:Mysteel Global
