Steel output across the 70 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reached 149.2 million tonnes (Mt) in July 2026, marking a modest 0.3% decline compared with the same month last year.
Regional trends varied considerably. Asia and Oceania, which together account for the bulk of global output, produced 109.4 million tonnes — down 1.2% year-on-year — while the Middle East recorded the sharpest contraction of all regions, falling 13.4%. Several regions bucked the downward trend, however: Africa expanded by 6.1%, Europe outside the EU climbed 5.8%, and North America rose 4.9%. Within the EU, production totaled 10.5 million tonnes, up 3.8% on the previous year. Russia together with the other CIS states and Ukraine, as well as South America, also registered modest increases.
China Still Dominant Despite a Decline
Among individual producers, China continued to lead the field by a wide margin, generating 76.9 million tonnes even as its output slipped 3.6% year-on-year. India ranked second with 14.4 million tonnes, up 1.9%, followed by the United States at 7.4 million tonnes (+4.4%) and Japan at 6.9 million tonnes (+0.4%). The month's most striking growth came from Viet Nam, where production surged 34.7% year-on-year to reach 2.7 million tonnes. Germany's estimated output, meanwhile, grew 3.0% to 2.8 million tonnes — putting it level with Brazil's total for the month.
Source: World Steel Association
