Global crude steel output steady at 149.2 Mt as regions pull apart

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) published July 2026 production figures on 24 August. The 70 countries that report to it — about 98% of world output in 2025 — produced 149.2 million tonnes of crude steel in July, 0.3% less than in July 2025. For January to July the total was 1,081.2 Mt, down 0.6% year on year.

The movement is in the regional split. In July, North America produced 9.6 Mt (+4.9%), the EU 10.5 Mt (+3.8%), other Europe including Türkiye and the UK 3.7 Mt (+5.8%) and Africa 2.0 Mt (+6.1%), while the Middle East fell to 3.8 Mt (−13.4%) and Asia and Oceania — 109.4 Mt, about 73% of the world total — slipped 1.2%. Year to date the same pattern holds: North America +5.4%, other Europe +5.5% and Africa +9.5%, against the Middle East at −8.1% and Russia, other CIS and Ukraine at −6.0%.

What this means for buyers: total tonnage is stable, so there is no system-wide shortage or collapse in steel supply — but the map underneath is shifting. North America and Europe are adding volume while the Middle East and the CIS are losing it, and shifts of this size usually surface in two places: the cost base behind each region's quotes (energy, scrap and coke, inland freight), and how hard a regional producer is willing to chase export business. For sourcing, the practical move is to keep the comparison window open — a framework agreement with a reviewable re-quote window at a fixed interval tends to beat locking a full year at one number while regional costs diverge this much.