But total production for the full year 2024 declined by 0.9% to 1,839.4 million tonnes, reflecting weaker demand and economic uncertainty across several major producing regions.
China and India lead December growth
China, the world’s largest steel producer, recorded an 11.8% year-on-year increase in December output to 76.0 million tonnes, despite a 1.7% decline in total 2024 production to 1,005.1 million tonnes, worldsteel said on Friday January 24.
The late-year boost may be attributed to increased demand due to restocking ahead of the Lunar New Year and incoming transport-affecting winter weather, as well as a greater focus on exports. There was also positive news a month earlier in November around year-on-year increases in new home sales.
But slow domestic consumption weighed on output over the whole of 2025, driven by a depressed property market and lackluster government stimulus policies.
India also saw strong growth in December, with production rising by 9.5% to 13.6 million tonnes. This contributed to a 6.3% annual increase, bringing total output for the year to 149.6 million tonnes, showcasing strong domestic demand in the south Asian country’s steel market.
Europe and the Americas: mixed performance
Germany posted a 4.1% year-on-year rise in December output to 2.7 million tonnes, with annual production increasing by 5.2% to 37.2 million tonnes. The European Union as a whole saw a 7.2% increase in December output to 9.6 million tonnes, while full-year production rose by 2.6% to 129.5 million tonnes.
But while crude steel output in the European steel sector has improved, weak demand in downstream markets continues to be a concern for market participants.
The European Steel Association (Eurofer) has called for an urgent meeting and EU summit to aid the region’s steel industry “in crisis”.
“The EU steel sector was already suffering from the ongoing energy and raw material crises, and on top of this, the EU market is once again being flooded by cheap foreign steel,” the association said in a letter addressed to the EU Commission’s president and vice president that was published on December 6, 2024.
Meanwhile, North America saw a 4.3% decline in December output to 8.8 million tonnes, contributing to a 4.2% annual drop to 105.9 million tonnes. And the United States, the dominant producer in the region, posted a 2.4% decrease in 2024 output to 79.5 million tonnes, reflecting ongoing challenges in industrial demand and construction activity.
With recent policy shifts in the US, concerns have arisen about potential new tariffs on steel imports, which could significantly impact the US steel industry.
In South America, Brazil’s production edged up by 1.8% year on year in December to 2.6 million tonnes, while full-year production grew by 5.3% to 33.7 million tonnes.
UK records largest annual decline
The United Kingdom recorded the steepest decline in crude steel production among the top 40 producers, with output falling by 29.0% year on year to 4.0 million tonnes in 2024. This sharp drop reflects ongoing challenges in the UK steel industry, including high energy costs, weak domestic demand, negative economic conditions, issues of competitiveness and structural shifts toward decarbonization.
Russia and other CIS nations continue to struggle
Russia remained one of the worst-performing top ten steel producers, with December output falling by 8.6% year on year to 5.7 million tonnes and full-year production dropping 7.0% to 70.7 million tonnes. Economic sanctions, weak domestic demand, and competition from cheaper Chinese exports weighed on the sector.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member nations recorded a 6.8% year-on-year decline in December to 6.8 million tonnes and a 4.2% annual decline to 84.8 million tonnes in 2024.
Ukraine, however, was an exception in the region, posting a 21.6% year-on-year increase in crude steel production to 7.6 million tonnes in 2024, reflecting efforts to revive its steel industry despite ongoing geopolitical challenges following Russia’s unprovoked invasion in 2022.
Turkey’s strong annual growth dented by December weakness
Türkiye’s crude steel output rose by 9.4% in 2024 to 36.9 million tonnes, marking one of the fastest growth rates among top producers. But December output fell by 7.6% year on year to 3.0 million tonnes.
