In this article, we will be taking a look at the 15 largest steel producing countries in the world. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 largest steel producing countries in the world.
The steel industry is one of the most important in the world, not just in terms of direct value and job creation but also because it is intrinsic to several other major trillion dollar industries such as the construction sector. Iron is used in the production of steel, which in turn is over 1,000 times stronger than iron. Steel is one of the oldest used alloys in the world, with steel knives being dated back to the 11th century BC. You can go back even further in history to find references to steel-working in the 7th century, after such references were found to mention a bowl inlaid with steel. However, steel was only mass-produced in the mid-1850s. This shows that despite the massive advancements made in the world, in not just the last few decades but centuries, steel’s importance to industrialization and development has not wanted.
The most commonly used metal in the world, total steel production in 2021 amounted to 1,951 million tonnes, with the largest steel producing country in the world alone responsible for more than 50% of this production. This is a far cry from 1951, when total global steel production was just 189 million tonnes. This is because of new and innovative ways to make the production of steel more efficient, with the steel industry reinvesting over 6.4% of total revenue in capital investment projects and more than 75% of the over 3,500 steel grades did not even exist just two decades ago.
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One of the issues concerning the future of the steel industry is the fact that the process of steel production results in a high level of carbon dioxide emissions, which is a major contributor to climate change, one of the most pressing problems of our time. In fact, for every tonne of steel production, 1.91 tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted, which contribute around 7% to 9% of total direct emissions from the use of fossil fuels, something with the biggest steel producing companies must find a solution for.
On the other hand, there are plenty of benefits to using steel as well, which bode well for its future, as about 630 million tonnes of scrap are recycled every single year, which saves around 950 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. In the last 120 years, 25 billion tonnes of steel scrap have been recycled while around 90% of the water used in the industry is returned to its sources, often cleaner than when extracted. Even right now, around 60% of energy consumption per tonne of steel production has decreased by around 60% since the 1960s. While most of the biggest steel companies in the world are based in China and India, two of the biggest producers of steel in the world, the U.S. has some major steel producers as well, including Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF), Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) and Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD).
Despite its importance, the steel industry is facing an uncertain 2023, as according to the OECD, the industry’s 2023 outlook has deteriorated significantly due to an economic slowdown across many countries, higher inflation, accelerating energy prices and of course the war between Russia and Ukraine, two of the biggest steel producing countries in the world. This is why, even though steel production increased by 2.6% from 2021 to 2022, production fell sharply in 2022 as compared to 2021 because of a fall in demand. The Russia Ukraine war has resulted in many steel producing facilities in Ukraine being destroyed, which has also affected steel production globally. Add to this pressure on steel prices which has impacted the margins of steel producers, and 2023 doesn’t look promising at all. Contrast this with the fact that steel production capacity has continued to rise even in 2022 despite the destruction of such facilities in Ukraine, which shows that capacity utilization is another issue that the industry needs to manage. Fitch Ratings has estimated that global steel consumption in 2022 will decline by 60 to 65 million tonnes, while the capacity utilization will from from 80% to 77%. China alone will account for a large percentage of this decline.
The biggest steel producing countries in the world are responsible for around 89% of total global steel production. Many such countries reported double digit growth rate from 2020 to 2021 even as the biggest steel producer registered a slight decline. We have determined the largest steel producers by accessing production figures for 2021 and 2020 by country according to the World Steel Association. We have assigned 70% weightage to 2021 numbers as that is the most recent data, while assigning 30% weightage to 2020 figures to finalize our rankings. So now, let’s take a look at the countries which are integral to one of the most important industries in the world, starting with:
15. Mexico
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 18.5
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 16.8
Currently, scrap recycling is much higher in Mexico, accounting for 38% of total domestic steel production as compared to the global average of 23%.
14. Ukraine
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 21.4
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 20.6
As mentioned earlier, several of Ukraine’s steel production facilities have been devastated as a result of war, while remaining factories have also cut supply as a result of people fleeing areas in anticipation of Russian attacks.
13. Vietnam
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 23.0
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 19.9
Currently, the Vietnamese steel industry is facing a rough stretch as demand continues to fall because of the construction industry declining. This is mainly because of tighter regulations in the real estate industry which resulted in Hoa Phat Group, the largest Vietnamese steel company, suspending operations in four blast furnaces. Recovery isn’t expected at least until the middle of 2023.
12. Taiwan
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 23.2
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 21.0
Hsin Kuang Steel is the largest steel company in Taiwan.
11. Italy
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 24.4
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 20.4
Italy’s steel production jumped almost 20% from 2020 to 2021, the highest percentage increase of any country in our list, which has allowed it to move further up the list compared to the previous year.
10. Iran
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 28.5
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 29.0
Surprisingly, Iran is among the largest steel producing companies in the world though it was one of the few nations in our list to witness a slight decline in production from 2020 to 2021.
9. Brazil
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 36.2
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 31.4
The largest steel producer in Latin America, Brazil is expecting its steel production to grow by 2% in 2023 as compared to 2022.
8. Germany
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 40.1
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 35.7
The largest steel manufacturer in Europe, Germany saw steel production decrease in 2022, as is true for most steel producing nations because of a fall in demand in 2022. While a February 2022 forecast saw the European Steel Association expect an increase in consumption of 3.2%, following the Russia-Ukraine war, this was revised to a decline of 1.9%.
7. Turkey
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 40.4
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 35.8
Turkey saw its steel exports increase in the first six months of 2022, though this started to fall towards the end of the year mainly because of rising energy costs, inflation, global economic slowdown and the Russia-Ukraine war. Production in 2022 has been lower than that even in 2020, while overall steel exports eventually ended up being 17% lower than the previous year because of the downturn in the second half of the year.
6. South Korea
Total crude steel production in 2021 (in millions of tonnes): 70.4
Total crude steel production in 2020 (in millions of tonnes): 67.1
POSCO is the largest steel company in South Korea, and is the sixth largest steel company in the world.
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Disclosure: None. 15 largest steel producing countries in the world is originally published at Insider Monkey.