Global steel output slipped to 149.2 million metric tons during July, down -4.4% from June. Midsummer is typically a slow period for raw steel production, and the new total shows a drop of only -0.3% from July 2025, and the seven-month total global output for raw steel is now 1.08 billion metric tons, just -0.6% less than January-July 2025.

The data is supplied by the World Steel Assn., which reports monthly raw-steel production results for member countries, currently totaling 70. The trade association has forecast tepid growth in steel consumption for 2026 due to a range of depressive factors, including weakness in Chinese demand and regional conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Various factors shape the global steel production total, but since the Spring of 2025 the major change has been the 50% U.S. tariff on steel imports. The sustained effect of that development has stabilized U.S. steelmakers’ production volumes and lifted the domestic industry to third-largest in the world.

The lack of year-over-year growth is continuing evidence of the weakness in the Chinese market; although China’s installed steelmaking capacity dwarfs any other nation, slow industrial and construction activity there has restrained steel production in the country.

Chinese steel output fell -8.8% from June to 76.9 million metric tons during July. That total is -3.6% from July 2025 and brings YTD output to 577.0 million metric tons, -3.1% lower than the January-July 2025 total.

Indian steelmakers produced 14.4 million metric tons during July, 2.1% more than during June and 1.9% more than in July 2025. That nation’s January-July output total 101.1 million metric tons, 1.9% higher than during the first seven months of 2025.

The United States steel industry continues to grow steadily, with 7.4 million metric tons ( million short tons) produced during July, an increase of 2.7% over June and 4.4% over July 2025. U.S. steel output for the current year to-date is 50.2 million metric tons ( million short tons), up 6.0% versus January-July 2025.

Japan produced 6.9 million metric tons, up 0.4%.

Japan’s steel industry has remained fairly strong during the past year, despite dropping to fourth in global rankings. In July, Japan produced 6.9 million metric tons of raw steel, 1.4% more than in June and 0.4% more than in July 2025. The seven-month output for 2026 is 47.3 million metric tons, or -0.3% less than the comparable total for 2025.

The Russian industry is estimated to have produced 5.7 million metric tons of raw steel during July, 1.8% above the estimated June total and 3.3% above the result estimated last July. The current YTD estimated output is 38.1 million metric tons in that country, or -6.1% less than in the previous year’s first seven months.

The European Union steelmaking nations are showing some resiliency after several weak years. Across the 27 EU nations, raw steel production during July totaled 10.5 million metric tons, which is 3.8% more than during July 2025. Even so, YTD production in the EU is up only slightly (+0.4%) from January-July 2025.

Within those EU totals are the German steelmakers 2.8 million metric tons produced during July, -3.6% less than in June but 3.0% above last July’s total. German steel output during the first seven months of this year total 18.6 million metric tons, 8.9% more than for January-June 2025.

World Steel Assn. compiles tonnage totals for carbon steel output from 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.