China cut steel production to a two-year low in November

In November 2025, Chinese steel enterprises reduced steel production by 10.9% compared to the same month last year and by 2.9% compared to the previous month, to 69.87 million tons. The indicator has been declining for the sixth consecutive month on a monthly basis and has reached its lowest level since December 2023. This was reported by SteelOrbis with reference to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Pig iron production in November fell by 8.7% year-on-year and 4.9% month-on-month to 62.34 million tons, while rolled steel production fell by 2.6% year-on-year and 2.3% month-on-month – to 115.91 million tons.

Low production volumes in November were expected, given the announced shutdowns of capacity in some provinces to reduce air pollution and to achieve annual production targets.

In January-November of this year, Chinese steelmakers produced 891.67 million tons of steel (-4% y-o-y), 774.05 million tons of pig iron (-2.3% y-o-y), and 1.333 billion tons of rolled steel (+4% y-o-y).

It should be noted that recently, the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM) and the General Administration of Customs of the PRC announced the introduction of export licensing for certain steel products. For Chinese steelmakers, this may limit the flexibility of exports as a market balancing tool, increase administrative costs, and force some companies to adjust their production plans, while the global market is increasingly likely to restrain export flows from China in 2026.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Chinese steel companies reduced steel production by 1.7% year-on-year in 2024, producing 1.005 billion tons. This is the lowest figure in the last five years. Experts note that 2024 is likely to be the last year when steel production in China exceeded 1 billion tons.