Crude steel production among the 69 countries worldwide surveyed by the World Steel Association (WSA) totaled 298.2 million tonnes during January and February this year, down 1.5% from the first two months of last year, according to the latest data released by the association on March 24.

China, the world's largest steelmaking country, was estimated by the association to have produced 76.1 million tonnes in February, falling by 3.6% on year. The cumulative output in the first two months registered 160.3 million tonnes, down by the same 3.6% on year, the WSA release indicated.

China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) usually combines national production data for January-February in its March releases. This is because the weeklong Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday usually falls into either of the two months and distorts the data for single-month output, Mysteel Global noted.

Among the top ten steelmaking countries, Japan, Russia and Brazil also posted on-year declines in their crude steel output in the first two months of 2026, the WSA survey result showed.

On the other hand, Germany recorded the largest on-year increase in output among the top 10 steel-producing countries, with the tonnage growing by 9.9% on year to 5.9 million tonnes in January-February, the WSA data indicated.

Meanwhile, India, the world's second largest steelmaking country, also had the world's second-fastest growth rate for crude steel output in the first two months of 2026, with the volume gaining by 9.7% on year to reach 28.9 million tonnes. During February alone, India's production volume came in at 13.6 million tonnes, mounting by 7.7% on year, the association's survey showed.

The U.S. remained the world's third-largest steel producer over January-February, with its crude steel output reaching 13.7 million tonnes during the period, up by 4.9% on year.

Source:Mysteel